


Disappearing World

by pebblekit



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Five Year gap story, Gen, Justice League Cartoon aspects, The speedforce exists
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-13
Updated: 2015-05-20
Packaged: 2018-03-01 06:32:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 37,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2763188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pebblekit/pseuds/pebblekit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When tensions rise and sparks fly in the Bat clan, Wally tries to be strong for his friend, Dick. But then, one night while cracking under pressure, he runs too fast and starts disappearing. Literally. Panicking, he quits the superhero business and stops running altogether, hiding what happened. Until Bart comes from the future, opens his mouth, and the huge secret Wally has been harboring comes out into the open.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story is a fill for the Young Justice Anon Meme on "Livejournal". It is also the first story I ever wrote for this fandom, so any feedback and constructive criticism anyone could give me, I'd really appreciate it. It was written a couple of years ago and posted elsewhere, but now that I'm writing another story in this world, advice would be awesome. This story actually starts between the two seasons and involves some aspects from the pre-reboot comics. Some of it might make Bruce seem a little out of character at first, but he'll get better later. The first part of this kind of focuses a lot on Dick as opposed to Wally, but that's what ends up triggering everything. That being said, the timeline is kind of skewed. So...Here goes.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with the DC universe or anything affiliated with it. This is just a fan work of fiction.

Disappearing World

Chapter 1

It was a fairly quiet day in the cave. Artemis was practicing in the training room with a new chemical for her exploding arrows. Conner was watching the static channel on the television. Megan was trying to cook, something she'd improved greatly in over the past few years. Currently, she was levitating several plates, ingredients, and pans precariously as they dipped and rose while she read a recipe. Kaldur was vacuuming, as he seemed to be the most serious member of the group in keeping their base clean. Everyone else was out somewhere, except perhaps Red Tornado, who no one ever really understood the movements of, when Wally came in, the computer blurting his name and number in welcome.

He immediately trotted over to the fridge, waving to Megan and Conner on the way, and opened the door, peering in. There were several things that, on any other day, would have caught his eye, but right then, he was more focused on his best friend. It was Dick's sixteenth birthday tomorrow, and Wally had already roped Roy into going out for ice cream later tonight in Star City so long as they didn't get a mission assignment. Over the period they'd known each other, Wally had discovered that the younger boy really valued time with the people he cared about more than presents, mostly because he lived with one of the richest men in the world and could have anything he wanted. The whole team would celebrate together on the actual day.

Wally was going to carry Dick over there as soon as he arrived from school (despite how much it seemed to embarrass his friend). Right then, he was just killing time. Hearing the telltale splat of an egg hitting the floor behind him, he pulled out some cheese and an apple, dashed over to grab a paper towel, and wiped the white and yellow up before Megan even managed to put her cookbook down.

"Thanks, Wally," she said, setting the text aside with a small smile. "Are you leaving soon?"

"Yeah," he answered, quickly swallowing a huge mouthful before continuing. "Rob should be back soon and then we're taking off."

"He doesn't know, does he?"

"Nope. At least, I hope not. I've been trying really hard to keep it a secret." And that was completely true. Though, admittedly, it was kind of difficult to hide anything from someone that had been trained by the Bat, was practically a freaking NINJA, and was surrounded by gabby teenagers all day.

"Even if he has figured it out, I'm sure he'll like it just as much."

Wally opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by the computer announcing the arrival of "Robin, B01". He smirked excitedly and sped off to the cave entrance, expecting his friend to come flipping or tumbling through as had become normal. However, his good mood quickly disappeared the moment he saw Dick.

The younger boy had come to the base before in all manner of ways, whether it be happy and cackling about something that he told no one about, angry over a crime that occurred in Gotham, contemplative over strategies, and so on and so forth. But this time, Wally could tell immediately something was wrong in such a way as he'd never seen before. Rob's head was bowed, his steps uncertain and clumsy, which was just wrong for his friend. But even more worrying was the fact that he was half in costume and half out, as though he'd started to change one way or the other, but couldn't be bothered to finish.

"Welcome back Robin and...what happened?" Megan had caught up with Wally, floating away from the kitchen with Conner right behind. Her face drooped with worry as she was undoubtedly taking in how strange it was to see her teammate's tunic shirt over a pair of jeans still with the utility belt, regular sneakers, a lopsided mask, and his cape folded haphazardly in his still-gloved hands.

The smaller boy didn't answer, but he slumped slightly more.

"...Robin?" Conner prompted after a moment, stepping forward slightly before seeming to think twice about it and drawing back.

Dick made a strange sound, somewhere between a whimper and a growl. A slightly horrified look crossed his face and he pressed it into his cape, obviously feeling humiliated.

Wally was getting really worried now. He'd never seen his friend so out of it or upset, and he didn't really know what to do about it. "Look, buddy, we can't help you if you don't tell us what happened." He tried to make his voice sound harmless and calm, but he wasn't really sure how well he did, considering how he normally just threw himself into things.

"Please Robin?" Megan added, quiet in her own gentle way.

"You can't call me that anymore," Dick finally answered after a long moment.

"What do you mean?" Megan asked, drifting closer to put a hand on his shoulder.

Dick flinched out of the grip, but didn't push her away. "I...I've been...Batman fired me."

There was silence. Sounds from the rest of the base still echoed around the walls, but the entry way was as still as a crypt, save for Robin bowing his head into his cape again. Before he even really know what he was doing, Wally found himself enveloping his friend in a tight hug. Dick's shoulders were trembling, but there were no tears. Just a sort of dumbfounded quiet, as though he, nor anyone else there, could find their words.

They stood there for awhile, long enough for Kaldur to finish his work in the hallway by the rooms and come to join them and for Artemis to amble in at some point, obviously noticing the inactivity in the cave. Megan must've said something to them telepathically, because Wally saw both of their expressions change- his in disbelief and sympathy and hers in anger- even though no one had spoken aloud.

When Batman came by later that day to give them updates on criminal activities, he completely ignored Robin, who had sunk into the couch by that point. Wally sat next to him, trying to coax him into sharing what had happened to no avail. Everyone else was giving the Gotham Knight some form of a death glare all throughout the meeting. Whether or not it affected him at all was impossible to tell.

(Later)

"HE WHAT?"

"SHHHHH. Keep it down," Wally urged, glancing around to see several pairs of curious eyes trained on their table in the small ice cream parlor. Roy, just realizing that he'd jumped out of his seat with his outburst, sat back down as quickly as possible, clearing his throat in an uncomfortable manner. People kept staring.

"He what?" the older red head tried again, this time mindful of their audience.

"He fired me," Dick responded, almost lifelessly, silent enough that no one would overhear him. His eyes were planted on his lap. His sunglasses were missing, left back at the base, which just felt wrong somehow. "Kicked me off the team. Out of the duo. I'm not Robin anymore."

Roy was looking at him incredulously, eyes almost comically wide as though he'd smelled something unpleasant. It might've been funny at any other time. "But...but why? I mean...you're like...the best of us, you know? Why would he..."

Wally didn't bother being surprised that Roy had alluded to himself as being a sidekick. He was more worried about Dick's reaction as his friend started shaking his head almost violently. "He needed me in Gotham on a case, but the team - Young Justice I mean - were in the middle of a mission. One he didn't assign us to. Conner happened upon a suspicious operation in the city on the way back from school, so he called us in for back up. We ended up busting a drug ring. I was in a stealth position, so Batman had called me and I had turned off my communicator with him, so I didn't answer. I got back to help him, but I was too late to really do anything."

"Dick," Wally started, leaning over again to hug him once more, but the younger boy drew away at the last moment, quivering.

"He said I was useless. That if I wasn't there when he needed me, there was no point in having a sidekick. I...this had happened before, but I'd never completely missed a case with him. I've just showed up late, you know? I never thought...I was doing good, wasn't I? With the team, with Young Justice...with you guys...wasn't I?"

"Of course you were, Dick," Roy said, reaching forward to grab his friend's hand, but Dick dodged the move, instead wrapping himself up in his own embrace. The archer acted unaffected, but Wally could tell the gesture bugged the older man. "Don't you ever question that, no matter what Batman or anyone else tells you."

"Then why did he...why did he kick me out? Why doesn't he love me anymore?"

"He does!" Wally said, slightly louder than he meant to and managing to draw back the attention of the people that had finally turned elsewhere after Roy's excitement. The speedster drew his voice down again, leaning close to ensure no one outside their circle could understand what he was saying. "He does, Dick. He's your caretaker. Why would you think that? He's probably just worried about you pushing yourself too hard to go back and forth or something." Even as he said the words, he couldn't help but think he was lying. Yet, for Dick's sake, he forged on. "Maybe he misses you or something."

"If that were the case, he wouldn't have kicked me out of the mansion."

Roy's jaw dropped at that and Wally felt himself freeze for once, unable to process the words for a second. "W-what?" Roy finally managed, obviously speaking past a lump in his throat.

"He kicked me out."

He'd said that several times now, throughout the day, but Wally hadn't understood. He hadn't thought that the words had extended past being Robin, hadn't thought they'd meant that Dick had lost his home too. "Are you sure?" And Wally really wanted to punch Roy then, because why would he say that? But the archer had never been good with words, not really. He'd always been blunt and frank. If Dick took offense to the harsh question, he didn't give any indication. He just shrugged.

"Don't know. He said I could come back this weekend and take some things, but...that was it. Alfred said that his expectations were too high, but he was rather upset, so he might not have meant it."

Wally had to mentally backtrack at the mention of Alfred, good old Alfred, losing his calm composure, but didn't mention it. He instead tried again to wrap an arm around his friend, and Dick allowed it this time. "Come here," he said instead of all of the things he wanted to say, like how Batman was a jerk, how this should never have happened, how he did nothing wrong. "We're here for you man, okay? Whether or not you're Robin with Batman, you can still work with us, right? We'll set up a permanent room at the mountain for you."

"Yeah. I'd offer you my place, but Jade just moved in, so that might not be the best idea. Besides, I think it'd be best for you to be with your friends," Roy said in thought. "Or perhaps another member of the league would take you in?"

"I could ask my parents?" Wally offered, though he wasn't quite sure that was the right thing to do. His mom and dad weren't around very often and when they were, they tended to be sort of apathetic about the whole superhero thing. Still, if Dick needed a place, he'd happily share his room or something.

"No," Dick managed. "I...thank you. Both of you, but...I'd rather just stay in the cave for now, if that's alright."

Wally nodded, understanding that maybe, after losing a second father, maybe Dick just wanted to be as alone as possible for awhile, at least from adults. (Even though he technically was almost eighteen and would soon count as such, but whatever.) "Alright then," he said. "We'll talk to Red Tornado. I'm sure he'll be okay with another full time guest. The others will surely be okay with it too."

Dick nodded again, though his heart didn't really seem to be in it. In front of him on the table, his mint chocolate chip sundae was melting sluggishly into what looked like a thin milkshake. Roy pushed it towards the smaller boy. "Until then, let's not focus on it, okay? It's your birthday tomorrow. I know this is hard, but...we want to help you. At least let us try to cheer you up?"

Dick, finally, looked up from his lap and met the archer's eyes for a long moment. "Okay," he finally said, though his voice was little more than a croak and rather difficult to understand. He cleared his throat subconsciously and tried again, this time with a much firmer voice. "Okay." And somehow, without prompting, he reached forward and grabbed the spoon Wally had set on a napkin for him earlier. His hand was trembling, but he managed to scoop up some of the desert and brought it to his mouth. Wally pulled him closer, reaching for his own treat as Roy did too. The three ate in relative quiet after that, talking about little things and telling stupid jokes. They'd even actually managed to wrangle two small chuckles out of Dick by the end of the night, a couple of sundaes later (more, obviously, for Wally).

As they stood to go home or back to base, the smallest of them smirked slightly, though the expression was much more somber than usual. "Thanks you two, for everything. Thank you so much."

Wally picked Dick up in a piggyback, gave him a spare pair of goggles, and the two of them ran alongside Roy's motorcycle as he made his way home. Jade came out to see them, though it was obvious she was uncomfortable in doing so, no matter how good she was at hiding it. Roy went up the fire escape of their apartment to her, giving her a chaste kiss on the cheek. He must have whispered something in her ear, told her about what had happened, because the normally private and aloof woman made her way down the stairs and actually hugged Dick. "If you ever need a hit-man, I could refer you to a pretty willing woman instead," she said cryptically, but there was no doubt what she truly meant.

Wally wasn't sure if he was more surprised by her joking tone, which was so much smoother and kinder than the taunting voice she'd used against them in battle, or about the fact that, as she pulled away, there was a cold look in her eyes that indicated she was absolutely serious. The speedster had only seen that expression a couple of times, mostly when someone mentioned Sportsmaster to her, but not very recently. Jade had managed to somewhat reform herself in the recent years, even helping out the Justice League at times, but that didn't still mean Wally's skin didn't crawl every time he thought about how often she'd tried to kill them. Especially that time at the pool when he'd nearly drowned.

He shivered as she pulled away from Robin, turning her back on them. He'd hate to be Batman just then.

Roy nodded to them before both vigilantes disappeared up their fire escape and through their window.

Wally picked Robin up again and bounded off. When they got back to the cave, he sent a mental message to Megan in the hopes she'd hear him, asking her to inform everyone else to act like nothing was wrong, at least until after Dick's birthday the next day. Thankfully, she seemed to pick up his words, as no one even mentioned Batman that night.

Wally, even before he'd become Kid Flash, before he'd gotten his power, had always walked his troubles away. Once he'd become a speedster, that walking had evolved into running. That night, he left and didn't return for several hours. He'd run almost at his top speed the whole way.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things go from bad to worse in the Batclan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. Thank you so much for your support and for coming back. Fair warning, this chapter is kind of strange. Batman may seem a little out of character, but I had just finished reading "Nightwing: Year One" when I wrote this and was quite shocked at how Bruce treated Dick in canon. I tried to get that he still cares about his ward across here, but if you think he's a little harsh, I swear he does get better later. That being said, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

(Later)

Dick was supposed to be strong. He had always been the one of their group that seemed unbreakable. Whether it came from working the streets of Gotham or from being raised as a hero by the Bat, he'd always had an aura of calm and dependableness that put everyone around him at ease. Even in the worst of missions, he'd always kept his head, always managed to see things through to the end, even managing a cackling laugh over half of the time.

Maybe that was why it came as such a shock when he shattered.

It'd been a couple of months since Dick's birthday and so far, the former sidekick had been doing well, all things considered. Roy, Wally, Uncle Barry, and Conner had all gone over to the Wayne mansion to help him move things as the others were all called away for other business with their mentors. Turned out that they'd all been moving the things he already had at the base into a bigger room that didn't seem so temporary. It was obvious that the league wasn't happy about Batman's...brash behavior, but in the end, it was his ward and his right. They could've kicked him out, but that would have cut off their ability to watch him, which, with someone like Batman, could be very dangerous (at least according to J'onn.)

Wally found himself spending more and more time with his friend and former partner. For a little while, Dick had tried to continue on as Robin, but it was hard. Even when Black Canary started assigning them missions instead of Batman, the costume and name was still a reminder of all that the younger boy had lost. After a short time, he'd stopped trying, instead racking his brain for a new name, and new mantle.

To his credit, Bruce seemed to feel bad about what he'd done and even tried to make amends, offering Dick his old place in the mansion back. But Dick had declined, saying he didn't want to be in a place where he could be kicked out of on a whim, especially if a main part of his life, mainly Robin, was no longer allowed under the roof. Bruce had argued with him, but didn't apologize. Not directly anyway. Wally, in the end, was rather proud of Dick and the way he stood up to his former mentor, even if he had spent the entire night afterwards dry-sobbing into the speedster's shoulder.

He was also proud of the rest of the team, as after about two hours of endless struggle between the former dynamic duo, Kaldur quite boldly, yet politely, went up to Batman and asked him to leave. Megan came up with a pie for him to take on the road, being very insistent that he go right then. Zatanna kept playing little tricks on him with her magic, trying to chase him off. Conner kept asking him very strange, out of context questions which might have seemed normal to anyone that didn't know him, but in reality had stopped being habit for the clone about a year before. As if Batman didn't seem uncomfortable enough with all of this, Artemis and Rocket practically forced him out the door (or zeta-beam).

After that, Dick got a little better, feeling as though he'd regained a bit of his life. He'd even been talking to Wally about a hero Superman had once told him about on Krypton known as Nightwing, saying that he liked the name and maybe would ask Clark if he could borrow it. He'd also shown the speedster a couple of drawings for costume concepts he'd made. He almost seemed back to normal, not counting the fact that he was cleaning and cooking more than before to occupy himself and spent more hours in the training room than ever before, determined not to fall behind, even though he had been pulled from active duty. His smirks returned, and his laugh, though if both were a little shakier than usual, no one mentioned it.

He was getting better. He really was.

Until Batman showed up again.

And everything went to Hell.

Because, standing next to Batman- next to him, not next to and slightly behind him like Dick had always walked- was Robin.

Robin. 

"Recognized, Robin, B10," the computerized voice said.

Dick took one look at him, this other boy that now apparently had taken his spot, and turned right around to walk to the back of the base. Batman called out to him, said to wait, but for once, Dick ignored him. Conner stepped forward to stop the younger boy as he passed, but froze in place at the same moment Wally could have sworn his heart stopped. Because there, running down the side of his best friend's face, was a tear. Dick had never cried before. He'd sobbed, whined, trembled, but never had he shed tears in front of them. Nor had he seemed to do so alone in his room.

Dick went past them to his room, closing the door behind him with an almost eerie gentleness. Wally then found all of his other teammates staring at him in surprise, because it was the first time he hadn't followed whenever Dick had seemed upset since 'the incident', as they had dubbed it. But the speedster didn't care. He'd go to the younger boy, but first, there was something else he had to do. Dick was crying. That was wrong. It had to be, in some bizarre law of the cosmos. Dick never cried. Especially in front of people. It was wrong. And Batman had caused it.

For the first time in his life, Wally wasn't scared, or even intimidated by the Dark Knight. Instead, he was angry. So angry. He turned to the man. The Robin standing by his side was looking after Dick, an uncomfortable expression on his face, but he didn't seem too upset but rather more curious than anything. Batman, however, hardly looked ruffled at all. Maybe that's what set him off.

Because, one moment, Wally was looking at Dick's door, worried about his friend.

The next, he's screaming uncontrollably at Batman.

(Later)

Uncle Barry pointed out later, oh so helpfully, that this might not have been the best course of action, but Wally just didn't care. He was pissed. At Batman, at the new Robin, at the League for not doing something about it, at everyone who wasn't helping. He found himself running much more often for much longer periods of time to keep himself in check. He also was having trouble with controlling his speed. He'd broken his record, going faster and faster almost every time he went out. Sometimes, Dick would ask to go with him. It happened so often now that Wally had given him a pair of goggles to keep and no longer found the extra weight on his back unfamiliar.

Despite everything, Dick tried to be strong. He talked to Superman about Nightwing, to which the Kryptonian had said that he thought the hero on his old planet would have been honored to have Dick take on his name. So the former Robin tried to finalize the design for what would be his new costume and practiced even more, focusing on learning how to use his escrima sticks more effectively.

That still didn't ease the tension between the team and the new Robin. Apparently, Dick had called Alfred to ask about the kid, who seemed to be about twelve or thirteen, though Wally wasn't sure. His name was Jason Todd, and Bruce had picked him up in crime alley stealing the wheels off of the Batmobile. He was pretty much the opposite from his predecessor in almost every way.

But that didn't stop Dick from trying to get to know him. He'd even claimed the boy as his sort-of-younger-brother, though the other kid didn't really seem too enthusiastic to get along. He was, for lack of a better word, snarky, sometimes sarcastic. He had attitude problems, didn't take orders well, and wasn't a very good team player. But it didn't matter. Batman wanted him there, so he was there to stay.

It was kind of hypocritical in Wally's opinion, considering why Batman had fired Dick in the first place.

Thankfully, Jason was slightly humbled one day in battle practice. Black Canary had had them fighting each other as well as her for a while and that day, they had drawn names out of a hat. Dick had knocked Jason flat on his back in under half a minute with no trouble at all. Several times. After that, Jason mellowed out a little and started to work harder, often training with Dick. But that still didn't help with the first Robin's feelings of inadequacy. He hid it well, though they could all tell that something was wrong. It all culminated about two months after Jason had joined the team (the kid didn't get put on active duty much, as he tended not to work very well under pressure yet.)

Wally walked into his room and stopped, seeing that Dick was randomly sitting on his bed. It wasn't unusual for his friend to drop in, but it was odd for him be in that particular spot.

"Dick? Are you okay?"

The younger boy looked down at his lap, which had pretty much become habit at that point. "Yeah," he finally said, though his voice was quiet.

"Are you sure?" Wally already knew the answer, but he didn't say anything.

"I...I feel terrible, Wally. I'm so jealous, and I don't like it."

The speedster blinked, something clicking in place. Dick was worried about that? "Dude, you're totally entitled to that."

"Maybe with Jason, but..."

"But what?" Wally prompted when Dick dropped off.

The younger boy sighed heavily. "Alfred called earlier today."

Though he couldn't really understand why, Wally's heart thudded a little at that. "Oh? What did he say?"

Dick didn't answer right away, and when he did, his words were completely unexpected. "Wally, do you think I was a good partner?"

The speedster couldn’t do more but just blink in confusion for a good couple of seconds. "...What?"

"To Batman. Do you think...I was good to him?"

"Absolutely, not to mention for him as well," Wally answered, not liking where this conversation was going.

"Then why did he replace me?"

"Dick..." Wally groped around his mind for answers, buying himself time by pulling out his desk chair and pulling it over to the bed so that he could sit facing his friend and look up at him. "I don't think that's what he intended. I mean...the bad guys expect Robin, right? So maybe that's why he didn't change the name."

"But it was my name, Wally. My name, which my mother gave me."

Wally stared at him at a loss, because beyond their deaths and a few other small stories, Dick never talked about his parents. Not really. "Was it?" he finally asked, fully aware of how much trust was being placed in him at that moment.

Dick nodded slightly. "Yeah. My oldest memory is of my mother and father tossing me up and down on Christmas morning, asking if I wanted to join their trapeze act when I got older. I was wearing red pajamas because that was my favorite color. Mom said she wanted me to fly with them some day because I was her little robin. That was my nickname, from then on."

"...Does...does Bruce know about this?" Wally asked, not happy about how weak his voice came out, but doing his best to maintain eye contact with Dick. This was really the first time his friend had opened up like this to him, had spoken this frankly about his past with him. He honestly didn't know how he felt about that. He would have been happy, if only not for what had brought the moment on. It wasn't fair that they had been driven to such a connection in such a way. Not to either of them, or their friendship.

"Yes, he does. When I told him what I wanted my name to be, he asked why, since bats and birds don't usually go together."

Bruce knew, and he had still given the identity to Jason. Wally, if possible, was even more angry with that realization. "That's...not right."

Dick shrugged unhappily. "But it's his decision. I mean, he's Batman. He gets to call the shots."

"That doesn't mean he can take something like that from you."

"Maybe not, but...Jason needed a name. I read his file. He really did need help. Maybe being Robin will do that. I just...Why did it have to be so soon? It's almost like he was already looking for someone before he fired me."

"I'm sure he wasn't," Wally tried, but honestly, he had no idea what went on in Batman's mind. He highly doubted that the man had intended to hurt his ward so badly, but at the same time, if he really had just been concerned or something, he seemed to be going about everything in the wrong way.

"But you don't know right? Jason is good in a different way than me. He's not a gymnast, but he has street smarts that I don't. His style, in ways, seems to fit with Batman's more."  
"I don't know. I always thought your grace was a good compliment to his force."

"I used to think so too, but...I've been reading newspaper articles. Apparently, Batman and Robin are doing really well and crime has gone down in Gotham a good fourteen percent. I just...I don't know, Wally. Do you think me being here really was that detrimental to the dynamic duo?"

Wally really had no idea how to answer that question, which, as painful as it was to admit, was fair. He had often wondered himself how many bruises, scrapes, and broken bones he could have saved Uncle Barry from if he had just been there in Central City and not here in Happy Harbor. But then again...Kaldur had been right when they'd first started out. Young Justice did good. He'd like to think that Conner, at least, was proof of that. But in Robin's case...

"I don't think so," he finally decided on. "I mean, Batman is used to working alone, you know? Yeah, I'm sure it helped him when you were around, but honestly, Dick? Over the last few years, you're the one that has put in the most time with your mentor. Besides, if he really had a problem with it, he should have just told you, not have fired you the second something went wrong. That was a mistake of his, not yours. Please don't ever think it was the other way around."

Dick swung his legs from side to side, still looking intently at his hands. "I keep telling myself that, but it's just...it's so hard. I mean, how would you feel if someone came, another speedster or something, and became Barry's sidekick and they worked better together than the two of you did?"

"I'm still not convinced that Batman and Jason do."

"But what if, Wally?"

Wally sighed. "I not really sure. I'd like to think that I'd be able to handle it like an adult, be mature enough to deal with it, but I just don't know. I haven't had to experience it and I'm so sorry you have to."

"It's okay. I just...I'm worried he'll forget me or something. Stupid, right?"

"No. Considering your current position, it's not stupid at all. Though I have to wonder...why would you think that?"

"I just...the bat family is changing. I'm just wondering if, by the time it's done, there'll be any room left for me."

Wally had the strong impression that Dick wasn't telling him something. Something really important. But the younger boy had gone quiet again and the speedster didn't want to push him unless he had to. So he spent the rest of the night hanging out with his best friend, trying his hardest to enjoy himself without being too guilty about it, considering how Dick had been feeling lately. He slipped out around two am once Dick had fallen into a deep slumber on the floor. Wally had carefully moved him to the bed and then gone for a run. This time, he went much further than usual, but he was able to manage his speed more efficiently than recently. He was getting better at controlling his powers.  
At least, he had been, until, again, Batman screwed everything up.

Suddenly, Dick's words from the night before made a lot more sense.

The next day, the computer announced the arrival of "Batman, 02, and Batgirl, B11.

Dick greeted her like an old friend, but Wally could see just how stilted the gesture was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for chapter two. Thanks to all of you for coming back and I hope you liked it. Chapter three should be up soon.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wally finds out what happens when a speedster runs too fast and handles it about as well as any teenager would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again, everyone! I apologize for the late update. Things got absolutely insane over the holidays and then I started a new semester at University. Thanks to those of you that have left kudos or bookmarked this story. You guys have no idea how much that means to me and I'm very honored. Now, onward! This chapter begins the main part of the story, as strange as that sounds. I hope you guys like this one and don't judge Barry too harshly. He gets better, I swear.
> 
> Also, though I always edit my chapters at least twice before posting, I always end up missing something. So...I'm sorry if you see any mistakes. They are mine and no one else's. On a side note, I (finally) figured out the right way to do italics on this site. So, those are going to start appearing in this chapter. I've been told before that I have a tendency to overuse them, though, so if anyone thinks so, please let me know and I'll try to cut back on them.

(Later)

This time when he ran, he didn't have any intentions in stopping. Dick had opted to stay at the cave and that was probably a good thing because the younger boy might not have been able to hold on tightly enough in speeds this fast. Wally gritted his teeth at the thought and pushed his legs to go faster. Maybe, if he ran fast and hard enough, he could leave all of his troubles behind.

All of Dick's.

Batgirl was a great person, there was no denying that. Everyone on the team, though they tried not to get sucked in, really loved her within hours of her arrival. Except Jason, who sat scowling off in the corner. She and Dick got along very well but were having issues with the awkwardness between them. Maybe that was part of what pissed Wally off so much – the fact that Batman and Robin trouble was beginning to invade Dick’s normal life too. The younger boy and Barbara were apparently friends from school. Wally, at first, didn't think she knew what had happened to the former bird. But then she'd pulled Dick aside, out of Jason's hearing range, but not really so private from anyone else and said that if she had to choose, she'd rather be working with Dick as Robin. She was sorry about what had happened and, had she known it was coming, would have tried to talk Batman out of it.

Contrary to everyone's hopes, this actually made things worse. Dick took the words quietly, with a nod and a smile, but his tone was bitter as he said that Batman had always been somewhat impulsive, despite what people thought, and that he probably hadn't even planned on firing his protégé. Somehow, he said, he felt like that made the fact that it had happened even worse. That Bruce would just dump him on a whim was not reassuring in the slightest, even if he did try to make up (somewhat) for it later.

Batgirl seemed to understand this point, and Wally did too, but some of the others didn't. Conner and Megan kept asking questions, despite looks from the speedster and harshly whispered remarks from Artemis to _shut up _, and though Dick answered them, it was obvious that it took a lot out of him.__

By the time Wally had left, the younger boy had sequestered himself to his room and was playing video games with Kaldur - _Kaldur _. Nobody really knew how else to cheer him up. Batgirl obviously felt bad and mentioned that she had told Batman she didn't think it was a good idea for her to come so soon after the incident, but there really is no way to say 'no' to the man, so she ended up here regardless. She did have the sense to leave the former Robin alone though, and decided to help Megan cook while everyone else found their own ways to blow off steam.__

Wally tried to push all of these thoughts from his mind as he ran even faster.

He was so upset. His best friend was hurting, suffering even, and he wasn't sure if there was anything he could do about it. He had offered to stay and play games with Dick and Kaldur, but, ever observant, the younger boy had obviously noticed Wally vibrating to _move _, to _run _, and turned him down, saying to come back later, when he returned to the cave.____

Wally wouldn't, couldn't, forget the face Dick had made when Jason had asked to play too. He'd tried to tell the kid off, but thankfully, Zatanna had swooped in, saying she needed a sparring partner to get better at hand to hand combat.

The speedster couldn't feel his legs anymore, but still he pushed them faster, wanting to get away, to _escape _.__

Escape like Dick couldn't.

It was a coward's move. But at the moment, he didn't really care.

He couldn't help Dick if his mind kept turning to all of the bad things that had happened.

So he tried to focus instead on the good. How he and Dick had gone to the fabric store a few days ago for the younger boy to get material for his new Nightwing costume. Alfred had called and said that Dick's debit card was still attached to Bruce's account and he was still allowed to use it, but Dick had wanted to pay for it himself.

"This way," he'd said, "Bruce can't possibly take it away from me."

Both of them knew that the man probably wouldn't do that again, considering how many times he'd taken to calling in the past couple of weeks to apologize and ask his wayward son to just come home, but it was probably comforting for Dick to make something entirely his after being by the Batman's side and under his rules for so long.

Wally tried to think of how excited Dick had been to start, how he'd showed Wally how to use a sewing machine (he had an old one that he'd taken from the circus when he'd left. It'd been his mother's. A "Singer Feather…something or other".) He tried to think about how he himself had just broken his speed record again a few days ago and was undoubtedly doing so now once more.

He tried to focus on how Conner had finally bested Black Canary in a sparring match, though whether she was holding back or not was anyone's guess and no one wanted to mention it to the clone after how proud he'd been of himself.

He tried to picture the date he'd gone on with Artemis a couple of months ago, before all of this had gotten worse and he'd started to devote all of his time to his younger friend.

He thought about all of this, but it didn't help.

Dick's anguish hung over him like a fearsome shadow, just waiting to devour everyone in sight, and Wally couldn't escape from it. No matter how fast he ran, or how far.

This became more obvious as he passed by the Eifel Tower, and he still couldn't get rid of the steadily rising dread in his stomach.

So he ran faster.

And _faster _.__

And faster, but it wasn't enough. It would never be enough. Yet he still tried.

He ran so fast, he couldn't even feel himself anymore, or see himself when he looked down and-

Wally's eyes widened behind his goggles as he stared at his legs. Or rather, where his legs used to be.

They were gone. _Gone _. His legs were _gone _.____

Before he even consciously decided on what to do, Wally was skidding to a stop, or at least, trying to. It was rather strange to brake when one's feet were missing from existence. Several different sights went past him as he began to slow - desert, lake, city, forest. He finally came to a halt in the middle of a small town. It was thankfully night, so no one was around to see him, but if they had been, the speedster probably wouldn't have been able to bring himself to care at the moment.

His legs hadn't reappeared and, even worse, the bottom of his torso up through his chest was slowly becoming more transparent. It took a few seconds for Wally to realize that he was vibrating, and not like he usually did when he was experimenting with Uncle Barry and trying to learn how to phase through something. This was entirely different. His entire body, or what was left of it, was tingling with energy, unable to stop shifting back and forth. Wally tried to stop, at least to slow it down, but to no effect. Once he realized what he was doing, feeling returned to him, even to his missing limbs. A strange buzzing sensation went through his bones.

His stomach had almost completely vanished, the phenomenon moving up towards his rib cage and Wally felt his heart stammer in terror. He snapped out of whatever shock he'd been in and started to panic, lifting his hands to his stomach to see if he was possibly hallucinating, but his left hand was suddenly missing too.

Fear forced its way up his throat, smothering him as he let out a choked noise, trying to wiggle his fingers in front of his face, but having no luck in making them come back. He could feel the movement, but nothing else. He could also discern a slight wind across his vanished fingertips and legs, which was worrying because the air all around him was completely still.

Wally began rubbing his right hand against his left arm and hand, trying to force it back into existence. But that just seemed to make it worse, as whatever was happening began to spread even faster. It was coming close to his heart now, and Wally had the distinct impression that if it went that far, there was no way he was going to be able to come back.

Wind was all around him now, licking at his neck and face, pulling at his hair, and his body was reappearing, but now the scenery around him was changing. There was an odd feeling in the air. Something heavy and almost stifling, yet...beautiful, in some way. Wally was suddenly aware that his body wasn't coming back, _he _was going to his body, and that was even scarier than losing only a part of himself.__

"No. Nononononononononono, this can't be happening it's impossible it has to be pleasetopstopstopstopSTOPNOW!" He was well and truly terrified now, not sure what was going on, what was going to happen. He didn't...he didn't want to die. He'd always thought he'd die naturally, or at least be killed in the line of duty. He would have been okay with that, could have handled it if it was for the good of others, but this was different. This was random, unwanted, and invasive more than anything.

He didn't _want _to go this way. No one would know what had happened, just that he had disappeared. Dick needed him. Artemis and he were really hitting it off. Batman needed to be told off again. His parents would FREAK. They'd blame Uncle Barry and...Uncle Barry and Aunt Iris...__

Wally's thoughts were going faster than they ever had, and he couldn't slow them down any more than he could slow the rest of himself. He was still vibrating, and this strange land around him was becoming more and more clear as the minutes (or seconds?) floated by. He rubbed harder at his arms, not sure what else to do, running out of options. His eyes jammed closed and he heard himself muttering "comebackcomebackcomeback" over and over, so fast that he normally wouldn't have been able to understand himself.

The buzzing feeling began to fade, and Wally rubbed even harder, not wanting it to go away. If it did, there really was no way for him to return. He couldn't...he didn't want to be stuck here in this place. He wanted to go back, wanted to go home, to Dick and Roy and Artemis and Barry and Iris and even Batman and -

It all stopped.

Wally was panting, having fallen to his knees at some point, shivering uncontrollably. His breath was loud in the quiet and he couldn't bring himself to open his eyes, too scared of what he'd see, of where he'd be. He consciously searched his mind for what to do, drawing up a memory of Robin - Dick, he's Dick or Nightwing now - teaching him how to meditate and control his emotions. The speedster consciously tried his best to calm himself, taking deep breaths, begging his heart to stop pounding.

If he was stuck, he'd find a way back, right? Maybe if he moved really slowly, he could make it back or something...right?

Despite his efforts to shake off the growing feeling of emptiness in his stomach, he couldn't help but imagine not being able to see his friends again, never being by Uncle Barry's side in battle, never being able to say 'I love you' to his parents. So deep was he in his worry that it was several minutes before he realized that there was no longer any wind blowing against his body.

Wally slowly, ever so slowly, opened his eyes, expecting to see that alien place, where nothing was familiar but still felt...comforting, in some creepy way. Instead, he nearly choked in relief as he saw around him the same small town he'd come to a stop in. He quickly looked at his body, realizing that he was whole again, whole and present and _fine _. Normal. There were no vibrations, no tremors, no transparency. He was okay.__

Sobs came out of his mouth unabated, ripping themselves from his newly quivering body as he realized how close he'd just come to death. Death, because what else could it be? He'd gone fast, so fast he'd nearly _died _. Had this ever happened to Barry, or was it just him? Wally had often wondered if maybe he'd messed up or something when he'd remade his Uncle's experiment.__

After all, he couldn't phase through things. He couldn't go nearly as fast. He couldn't make stable tornadoes. He'd always worried, in some part of his mind, that he wasn't a full speedster, or something of the sort. In that case, was this something that would only happen to him? If he went too fast, or ran for too long, would he just cease to exist? Is that what had happened just moments ago? If that was the case, what was the limit? How far could he go before he was...well, gone?

Another thought came to mind, one that was deeply unpleasant and not something he even wanted to contemplate. Was this a new thing, or an old? Now that it had happened once, did that make him more susceptible to it happening again? If so, was it going too fast that would be the problem, or fast at all?

Most importantly, would being close to anyone else affect them in some way?

Was it safe to use his powers?

It took a couple of hours for him to work up the courage to run back to base, hardly even making half his usual speed. By the time he got back, the sun was rising in the distance.

(Later)

There had been many things in his relatively short life that had really upset Wally, but nothing nearly as much so as the look of disappointment on his Uncle Barry's face when he handed over his Kid Flash costume. "But why?"the man had asked, his eyes sad, oh so sad. "I thought you liked working with me."

"It's not that," Wally had told him. He wanted to spew out everything, tell everyone what had happened to him, just so that they'd all understand and not look at him with pity, or anger, or disbelief, or any of those expressions he was sure he’d would receive in the coming days. But, as it was, he didn't. He couldn't shake the feeling that there was something terribly _wrong _with him.__

Barry had never mentioned having anything similar happen to him, nor did Jay. If nothing had, then it was obvious that this was unique only for Wally. Ever since that day about a week and half ago, every time he had used his powers, the speedster had felt uncomfortable going fast, as though something was chasing him, licking at his heels and trying to pull him back. Obviously, he had done something wrong. He’d thought about it for long time and he was now fully convinced that he must have messed up in repeating Uncle Barry’s experiment. Not only that, but now that he'd been...touched by whatever it was (he refused to call it 'the other side' or anything of the sort), he'd been having more and more issues controlling his gifts.

He'd accidently caused one of the mats in the training room to explode when he fell on it. Without warning, his body had started vibrating uncontrollably, trying to phase through the mat and instead just scrambling around its molecules. The day before, he'd tried to just jog slightly at gym class and had ended up almost zooming around the track. The only reason his cover hadn't been blown was because, as soon as he'd felt himself slipping, he'd aimed for an errant rock on the ground and purposely tripped over it.

There had been several other problems in the past ten or so days, numbering to be much more than was normal, even for someone as clumsy as himself. He wasn't entirely certain what to do, but he was so _scared _. The feeling of disappearing, of ceasing to exist, just wouldn't leave his mind. There was no way for him to escape it.__

But, if anything, he was more afraid of telling anyone. Especially Barry.

Wally had always been afraid of just not being good enough. Someday, as several people in the league had told him, including his Uncle, he would probably be expected to take up the mantle of the Flash. But how the heck was he supposed to replace his hero? How was he supposed to be as good as Barry? It was impossible for him.

Now, it was impossible for him to even be Kid Flash. He'd known he'd have to change the name eventually, at least for appearance's sake because of his actual age, but he'd never thought that he'd have to just...stop. He'd always assumed he'd be in the hero gig at least until he died, if not, until he was old and gray like Jay. There wasn't anything else he wanted to do in his life, at least, not nearly as much. This was his dream. And it was being ripped from him faster than he could run after it to grab it back, even if he was brave enough to try in light of recent events.

He was so ashamed. And so scared.

It was highly unlikely, he thought, but if there _wasn't _something wrong with him and he talked to Barry about it, the older man could become aware of...whatever was happening. What if his mentor, by thinking about it, accidentally caused it to happen to himself? What if it was contagious or something? What if, by being too close or something, he made his Uncle, and possibly even Jay Garrick, now that he thought about it, targets for whatever this thing was that was chasing him? What if one of them started to disappear, just as Wally could have sworn he himself was doing every time he turned around?__

So he didn't say anything. If the problem arose with either of the other speedsters, then he'd bring it up. Until then, all he could really do was wait and pray it was over. That thought, however, didn't make it any easier to let go of the canary yellow and fire-engine red fabric he'd become so accustomed to. Nor did it make it any easier to lie to Uncle Barry, who also happened to be his other hero besides the Flash. The fact that the man embodied the _two _people he'd most looked up to in his life made it even harder not to give himself away.__

"It's not that," he repeated, trying to make sure his voice didn't come out too shakily as he recalled the script he’d written himself and memorized. "I just...I'm going to be going to college soon, you know? I got a scholarship in Palo Alto. I'll be too far away to help you."

"That's not really a problem. I'm sure that city needs help too. Besides, if I needed you, you could just zoom over, you know?"

"NO!" Barry jumped at the sudden outburst, eyes wide, and Wally tried his best to reign himself in. "No, I...I just can't. I'm worried about my grades. This is my future and I can't let myself get distracted."  
"So now crime fighting is just a distraction for you?"

"No, that's not what I meant!" Wally was well aware that he was sinking in his own despair. He could feel sweat dripping down the back of his neck at Barry's hurt and slightly angry tone. Desperately, he grasped around for something, anything that could make this situation better. "I just don't know if I can commit to both as much as I could in high school. I'm going to have much more homework than I'm used to, and I'm going to have so much more to do in general! I just...I don't want you to count on me being somewhere when I can't be there. I don't mean I don't think you can handle it yourself, I'm just not sure I can always be there with or for you. I'm sorry Uncle Barry! I just don't want to be a liability."

There was a long silence and Wally realized that at some point, he'd turned his gaze to the floor and now wasn't able to look up at his mentor's face. Barry finally spoke, quiet and upset, though still slightly angry. "Is this about Robin?"

Wally's face _did _snap up at that, meeting the pinched expression of his Uncle. "What?"__

"Wally I know you're upset over Dick being fired. We all are. But...do you honestly think I'd do that to you?"

"Uncle Barry, I just-"

"Do you really think that?!"

Wally flinched backwards, startled beyond words at how quickly Barry's voice had risen. Instead, he just shook his head slowly.

But Barry obviously didn't believe him. "We're a team," he said stiffly. "A partnership. Why would you ever think that I'd just push you to the curb like that?"

Wally refrained from pointing out that Dick and Batman had been the same, but still was having trouble organizing his thoughts into understandable sentences. This wasn’t what he’d expected at all, and it was so much worse than he’d been prepared for. "No, I didn't say that!"

"But you thought it."

"No, you don't understand! I just-"

"After all this time, surely you know you can trust me to do right by you?"

"Yes, I do, I wasn't saying I didn't-"

"Then what ARE you saying?"

And this was it. His last chance. He could tell the truth. He should tell the truth. He should put aside his fear and -

"I just...can't be Kid Flash anymore," he said weakly.

His Uncle's look was heavier than ever before, more so even than when he'd found out Wally had almost killed himself to become a speedster. The silence between them was long, and Wally kept trying to say what he really wanted, _needed _to say, but he just couldn't do it. And Barry was either waiting for him to finish or fishing for his own words because his jaw was clenching and...__

Wally took a deep breath to calm himself, to slow down, and it was only then that Barry answered.

"I don't understand. But I'm disappointed in you, Wally."

And that hit harder than a ton of bricks. Harder than one of Bane's punches. Harder than Dick's tears not long before.

"No, Uncle Barry, I'm sorry. If I could, I'd...I'd..." he broke off, stopping himself before he said too much, but that only made his mentor angrier.

"You'd what, exactly? Figure out a way to make it work, assuming you really want to? Trust me like you said you always would? Talk to me about what's really wrong instead of lying to my face?"

He knew.

He knew something was wrong. When he looked up, he saw past just the anger in his Uncle's face to another emotion he hadn't noticed before. Some sort of hurt. Betrayal his mind supplied. Barry felt as though his nephew had _betrayed _him in lying. Wally should have started talking then. But that fear came back, rising in his stomach higher than ever before and flooding into his throat and mouth.__

"I'm sorry," he finally managed.

Barry looked at him for a moment longer. "I'm sure you are. And when you're ready to be truthful, you know where to find me. But until then..." He broke off and sighed before continuing. “I can’t trust you if you’re not honest with me.”

And then, with a blur of red and yellow, Barry was gone.

He'd taken the Kid Flash costume with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you once again to all of you that have stuck around this long. I feel as if Barry may be a little harsh here, but I was kind of thinking about how he was acting in the episode "Bloodlines" while I was writing it. I hope it came across that he really does care quite a bit for Wally. Hope to see you all next time! Thanks for reading.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time goes by. When Bart Allen comes from the future, Wally, despite his misgivings, is spurred back into action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Pebblekit _: Thank you guys so much for the reviews, kudos, and bookmarks! That said, when I posted this story elsewhere, I got some questions prior to this chapter, so I decided to go ahead and clear some things up. This next part contains SPOILERS. Very minimal, but if you don't like knowing anything, don't read.__
> 
>  
> 
> _  
> _1\. First of all, I went with the same reason Wally couldn't run fast in the comics- he set a psychological barrier for himself and couldn't get over it until he needed to. Here, he finally did because he wasn't focusing on his actual speed, but more on his running itself. The Speed Force, once it touches him, will continuously tug at him from that point on because he's been touched. It's almost like he left a part of himself there and it's trying to get the rest of him.__  
>  _  
>  _2\. This is an Artemis/Wally story. However, the relationship isn't really shoved in your face, more like it's just mentioned. Artemis doesn’t actually show up at all, because she goes undercover shortly after this, though Wally thinks about her. Even though there are rather...tender?...moments between Wally and a certain character in chapters to come, they are just friend-moments and nothing more.__  
>  _  
>  _3\. A lot of you might be upset that there's a lot of summarization of what happens in this chapter. That's mainly because, though a lot of things happen, and Wally does change, they don't make him change his mind about telling anyone. In fact, if anything, they just make the problem worse. Time rushes by in the story because Wally's life is a blur of lies and remorse that he can't escape...if that makes any sense.__  
>  _  
>  _4\. Lastly, Wally didn't tell Artemis the whole story. She knows there's something wrong, but that's about it. He's too scared to tell anyone. (I think I would be too...)__  
>  _  
>  _Sorry about the long author's note! Thank you all so much for your support and continued reading!__  
> 

(Later)

Dick did eventually make up with Bruce. Or rather, Nightwing made up with Batman. There was still some undeniable tension between the two of them, but they were able to put it aside for the good of the superhero community. Wally wasn't sure exactly what had happened. At first, he'd kept going to Mount Justice to hang out with his friends, particularly Dick, who made his debut as Nightwing shortly after Batgirl arrived. He was pretty much accepted onto the team with no problem, everyone happy to see him make a comeback, even the new Robin.

Wally had acted as a sort of monitor for a while, keeping track of everyone's signals and such while they were on missions. That had been safe for him. Easy. Well...not so easy. The urge to run, to join the actual battle, was overpowering. But he couldn't. He still hadn't told anyone the full story of what had happened. Dick knew something was wrong. All of the original members of Young Justice did, and perhaps Zatanna and Rocket as well. They had each asked him about it in their own ways, but he'd dodged all of their questions. Eventually, they'd just given up. Even Artemis and Dick, who kept giving him weird looks over their shoulders, didn't actually bring up the topic of why he left Kid Flash behind anymore.

The next year was difficult. Barry would talk to him still, but it was a stilted sort of relationship in comparison to what they'd had before. His Uncle had never offered to give him back his old uniform, and Wally had never asked for it. He kept thinking in the back of his mind that it probably didn't even exist more. His Aunt Iris was still kind towards him, but he stopped getting so many invitations to go over to their home.

After about a year, Batman created an upgrade for the computer system in the cave, inadvertently rendering Wally's job as monitor obsolete. Young Justice still allowed him to come around as often as he wanted, and after a long day at college, it was nice to go and just relax with his old teammates. He still tried his best not to use his speed unless absolutely necessary, but every time he did, it became harder and harder to hold back, to keep control over himself. Dick noticed and tried to help him without actually saying it outright, but there was a small rift opening between them due to the dishonesty from Wally's side and the frustration from his friend's.

All of that changed, however, about a year and a half after Nightwing took up his spot.

Jason went up against the Joker in a fight.

He ended up with his head bashed in by a crowbar.

There was evidence that the Robin might have been able to survive, but he'd been left in a building rigged to blow and hadn't been able to free himself in time.

Batman had gotten there just to see the place go up in flames.

Nightwing had been helping out Roy in Star City for the weekend, trying to find Jade, who had left seemingly without rhyme or reason.

Dick and Jason hadn't been nearly as close as Dick and Barbara (who Wally came to know was Batgirl's real name). But the first Robin had still tried his best to see the second as a brother, despite the problems he was still having with Bruce. Jason's death came as a terrible blow to everyone, but Dick and Babs were completely stricken by it. Wally tried to help as much as he could, but it was obvious that he just didn't really understand how it felt to lose someone to the job.

At least, he didn't until about a month afterwards, when Artemis was cornered in a particularly dangerous mission. It was only afterwards, when he sat by her hospital bed holding her casted hand and listened to the list of injuries rattled off that he began to understand. Artemis didn't want to go to school, but she did have a good job lined up. When she was told that she'd be out of commission as a hero for at least six months, she decided to go ahead and retire with Wally, instead focusing on starting a life. Both were willing to be called if absolutely necessary, but Wally made it clear on no uncertain terms that he didn't want to use his speed. Dick had looked at him oddly, searchingly, but said nothing.  
Looking back, Wally could tell that his younger friend was still grieving over Jason and probably hadn't been in a completely right mind, or maybe he really was just trying to give Wally as much space as possible. Either way, the acrobat had known something was wrong. Perhaps that's why Dick hadn't asked after him when Wally stopped coming around the base. As more and more new members of the team joined up, the speedster just felt wrong being there. Out of place somehow. Artemis didn't feel the same way, but she still left to live him in Palo Alto.

Not long later, a third Robin joined the fold named Timothy Drake. He was much closer to Dick than Jason had been, and even more so than Barbara in some ways. Wally was happy that his friend had found someone to confide in, but he couldn't help but feel a little left out. It was a completely selfish sentiment, one he didn't like feeling. After all, it was he himself that had chosen to quit, to leave his friends behind, no matter how good his intentions. It was only fair that he expect some of the relationships he'd had before to weaken over time.

This thought only seemed to be compounded after Kaldur went undercover. Almost everyone had thought they'd been betrayed by the Atlantean, but Dick, Artemis, and Wally all knew the truth. The speedster was aware that he'd probably only been made privy to that fact because Dick might've snapped if no one else knew and if he couldn't talk to someone about it when he needed to. It was hard to pretend like one of his best friends was evil, especially around his other old teammates, but he managed somehow. He'd never been the best of liars, so it was easier for him to just avoid talking about the subject.

Just like it was easier for him to ignore the topic of Kid Flash's retirement. His relationship with Jay and Joan Garrick also became somewhat strained, if only because he mostly knew them through Barry. It was apparent that Jay was unhappy with Wally randomly dropping his responsibilities as Kid Flash and wasting his powers, especially since he'd obviously lied about why, though the older man didn't exactly say it in so many words. Not even Artemis really knew the whole truth. He'd just told her that something bad had happened and left it at that. She wanted to know, but she seemed to understand that he couldn't bring himself to talk about it. She didn't ask.

One year passed, then almost two. Wally turned twenty before he knew it. College was getting harder and more of his time was being taken up with homework. He also got a part time job at a comic book shop. He felt selfish, being somewhat thankful he was out of the superhero world, if only so he'd be able to finish everything, now that he was no longer using his power as he once had. In that way, he hated his speed. He was so used to it being there that when it wasn't, it became harder for him to parcel out his time appropriately.

Artemis worked hard and long hours, but gained a couple of small promotions along the way. Wally also got one and the two of them were able to afford their small apartment more comfortably. It certainly took some stress off of them, something Wally was grateful for, as he no longer felt like he was about to crack under pressure as he had for a while.

Everything was going fine, at least until one night, when Dick called.

His friend had only done so a few times since Wally had retired. The first had been on a particularly nasty mission when the team had gotten split up and Me’gann had somehow ended up being stuck in a burning building. He'd ended up being forced to run over speed her out of there. In that case, he'd just worn tight clothing he'd treated to survive the conditions of his abilities. At another point, Nightwing had had to leave town to go do something in Bludhaven and had asked Wally to help M’gann and Conner run Young Justice for a couple of days. That had been nothing short of awkward and humiliating, as some of the newer members didn't really want to take orders from someone who had quit. But he had managed with a little help from Red Tornado. Once the robot had mentioned that Wally had yelled at Batman once, his coolness points with the younger heroes seemed to rise to over nine-thousand.

The third time, it was about Roy. The archer was apparently going off the deep end and robbing people to find the real Roy Harper. Wally didn't exactly know what to do about that, save for punching him upside the head. His pseudo older brother had always been, if nothing else, stubborn. That night was no exception. They tried talking with the older man, but he didn't want to listen, so Wally went back to Palo Alto, not sure if they'd helped or not. His heart clenched at the thought of Roy ruining his life, but he wasn't sure exactly what he could do. The older man had hit him where it hurt, striking out at his quitting the sidekick gig, especially after everyone but Dick and Oliver had given up and left. He'd been malicious, and Wally hadn't liked it. At all. He knew Roy was under a lot of pressure, but that didn’t give him license to treat everyone else like scum. In the end, Wally was under the impression they might have actually made things worse.

Usually, there was a lot of time between each call, so when he got another not long after the one about Roy, Wally thought it was probably about the same thing. When Dick said that there was another speedster named Bart claiming to be Barry's grandson from the future, the redhead almost didn't believe him, thinking maybe it was a joke. But the voice on the phone said that this was Nightwing instead of Dick, and Nightwing didn't joke, so Wally asked where this Bart person was.

Ten minutes later, he was standing outside Barry and Iris's door, trying desperately to get hold of himself. He'd sped over there against his own wishes, feeling the phantom sensation of disappearing all over again, but did his best to ignore it. Slowly, he gathered his courage and edged closer, hearing a new voice from inside the room, one he hadn't heard before.

Then Iris was saying "We're having twins?" and his heart _froze _because what?__

Then the new voice said something like "oops, spoilers" and Wally sighed in exasperation. The Justice League had dealt with time travel a couple of times before, so he wasn't as caught off guard as he could have been, considering that this kid was supposedly the grandson of Barry and Iris. Figuring that right then would have been as good as any moment, he called to him all of the bravery he had left in his body. It'd been awhile since he'd spoken to his aunt and uncle, both of whom had grown more and more distant over the previous two years. He still wasn't entirely sure what he should say or how he should act, but he forced himself to open the door anyway, steeling himself against whatever was to come.

But nothing could have prepared him at all.

"Careful kid. If you are what you say you are, revealing too much could crash the time stream." Wally was kind of proud at how strong his voice came out, despite how hard his heart was pounding. He blinked once he got in the actual living room though, not quite grasping what he was seeing yet. There was a banner and Jay and Joan were there. Wally had called them that morning and given them a well-wishing over the answering machine for their seventieth anniversary, but he'd had no idea that the Allens were throwing a party for them. He hadn't been invited. He wasn't sure whether it was that or the fact that he wasn't really surprised that hurt the most.

His attention drew back to Bart in all of his red and white glory (though the colors were far more muted than Wally’s had been on the Kid Flash suit, Bart would still be highly visible in the field), not really sure what to make of this. To be fair, the kid did kind of resemble Iris and Barry, and Wally couldn't deny that he felt an odd...connection to him, but he wasn't really sure what to make of it.

"Crash it? If only," Bart said, a slight smirk crossing his face, but his eyes were planted on Wally. There was something...off about his stare, as though he was looking right through the red head or something.

"Wally?" Barry's voice wasn't nearly as friendly as it used to be, and it made Wally's stomach turn. "What're you-"

"Nightwing called," he interrupted, and he had the fleeting thought that this was the first time he'd cut his former mentor off. He tried to ignore the sour taste that left in his mouth and the looks Jay, Joan, and Iris gave him. "Thought I might be of some help in this mess."

He hadn't meant to sound so harsh there, but inwardly shrugged it off. He highly doubted there was any way he could make anything worse than it already was. Suddenly, faster than he could see clearly, there was a blur and he felt a vice like grip clamp around him, pinning his arms to his sides. Alarm bells immediately flared out in his mind, fine-tuned from years of being Kid Flash, but he fought them down as best he could.

Turned out, it was Bart, who looked up and let go almost as soon as he made contact, though his hands still kept a tight hold. "You're Wally West! My first cousin once removed!" he said rather loudly, excited. Wally was really surprised. It'd been awhile since anyone from Barry's immediate family had been that happy to see him, and though he hadn't even met the kid yet, Wally had the strangest feeling he had. There was just something about him, something that practically screamed he was related to Barry.

He felt a small surge of sheer glee rise up in him, unlike anything he'd felt since he'd left his old life behind, but beyond that, he could feel the burning gazes of everyone else in the room, and his good mood dissipated before he fully grasped it, reminding him why he never met with these amazing people any more. "The operative word being 'removed'," he muttered, forcibly pushing Bart from him, because he somehow knew that the kid wasn't going to let go any other way.

The smaller speedster looked up at him for a moment, an odd expression crossing his face as Wally met his eyes. Bart opened his mouth, as though to say something, but Iris's phone interrupted them. He quickly turned around, faster than Wally could easily track. "Uh, don't answer that! Uh...I mean, why break up the reunion?"

If the hug had put Wally on edge, that really disturbed him. Bart's tone said something bad was going to happen, and on the off chance that he really was from the future, (which was becoming harder and harder to refute,) that was certainly worrying. Soon, Barry was zooming off to fight some enemy or another, and Wally could feel panic not unlike that which he'd encountered when disappearing rising again, directed towards his Uncle. He wasn't sure why, but he had the overwhelming impression that something was __wrong __.

When Bart had started arguing, practically begging Barry to stay and let the League take care of what was happening downtown, Wally had wanted desperately for his Uncle to agree, even if he knew it wasn't going to happen. He felt terrible doing it, but when the Flash was gone and Bart was staring after him longingly, Wally egged him on, thinking he'd feel better if at least someone was there to have his mentor's back. Even if that person wasn't him.

"You're going, aren't you?" he asked, somehow already knowing the answer. Taking in the kid's costume, it was obvious he had some sort of experience.

"Doi," Bart almost snarked before zooming off himself. In super-speed-time however, Wally saw it. The kid shot him that strange look again, as though he saw something no one else could. Within a second, however, he was gone, and Wally released the breath he hadn't been aware of holding.

He wasn't sure how long he stood there, staring after the two of them, but he was well aware of the hint of jealousy tingling through his skin along with a strange relief. He felt somewhat ashamed of that and tried to tell himself that such a thing was totally natural. A sudden hand landed on his shoulder, breaking him out of his trance. Wally spun around, faster than he intended and automatically tried to slow himself down. He caught his breath as he realized it was Joan, her smile wider than he'd seen it in quite a long time, at least when aimed at him.

"We got your message this morning. We were going to stop by your place tonight to say 'thank you'. It was very sweet."

"Oh...uh...you're...welcome?" he responded, somewhat uncomfortable under Jay's scrutinizing gaze from a few feet away. After all, he wasn’t sure exactly what Barry had told them beyond the fact that Wally had quit out of the blue and lied about the reason why. He had no idea what could be going through the old couple’s minds. 

Joan just smiled even bigger. "Are you going to help them out?"

He could have sworn his heart stopped at that. Or maybe went too fast for him to really feel. If that was the case, he really needed to make it stop, because if he didn't, then the rest of him would start going too fast, and if that happened -

He took a deep breath, trying his best to make himself calm. "I'm retired Ms. Garrick," he said, trying to ignore the slightly crushed look his Aunt Iris shot him. "I've been out of commission for quite a while. Even if I did go, I think I'd be more of hindrance than anything." And that hurt, because he hadn't realized just how true that was until he’d said it out loud.

"Don't speak of yourself in such a way," Jay's voice came out. "You used to say such things when you were Kid Flash as well. 'Do you think I'm just holding him back?' you'd ask. Or "do you think he regrets taking me on? I'm so slow.' But, so far as I can see, you were about as fast when you retired as I am now. You did great work as a hero, both with Flash and in Young Justice. Just as you would if you ever started again. Don't you ever think differently, young man."

"But I screwed up!" Wally blurted out before he could stop himself. At the questioning looks from all sides, he sighed, trying to figure out just how much to tell. "I...I messed up remaking Uncle Barry's experiment. My abilities aren't the same as his." _Neither were the effects of them. ___

"Wally," Aunt Iris spoke up, "it took a long time for Barry to get as fast as he is now. You can't expect to be able to keep up with him without serious effort."

"That's not what I'm talking about," he answered, again before he could cut himself off. This random bout of brain vomit he seemed to be afflicted with at the moment really needed to go away.

"Then what? What was it that made you quit?" His Aunt sounded so upset, so sad.

Wally just clamped his mouth shut this time, scared of saying too much. But he found himself unable to handle the weights of their gazes, so he bowed his head and stared at his feet - a habit of his since he had become Kid Flash. It was difficult to start running so fast without looking down.

"Son," Jay came forward, startling Wally into looking up again. The old Flash's hands settled on his shoulders, and Wally imagined he could feel the weight of decades with them. "I don't know what happened to make you think you're not good enough, but it's time I set you straight. I could tell just as well as Barry how much being Kid Flash meant to you. When you quit, I couldn't for the life of me figure out why. It still doesn't really make sense to me. But it's clear there's something in your past that creates this doubt in you. Wally, if you can't put it behind you, it's going to end up ruling your life. It already does."

"No it doesn't," he answered immediately, knowing he was lying but still desperate to hide the truth. If Jay knew, he wouldn't be saying this. He wouldn’t be looking at the younger man with that sincere, worried look. Not if he knew that there was something wrong with Wally, and it had gotten worse and worse since that day.

"If whatever happened hadn't happened, would you still be Kid Flash today?" Jay asked stubbornly, his eyes boring into Wally's.

"...Yes."

"Then it's time for you to reclaim yourself. Your life. It's time for you to _run _again."__

The way he said that word shook Wally to his core. The only one that could say it like that was someone like him, someone who understood the rush, the exhilaration, and -

"...WALLY!" Aunt Iris's voice cut through his reminiscing, but it was so slow he almost missed what she was saying. "STOP THAT!"

He blinked and realized that he was vibrating, fast enough that Jay had stepped away from him, staring at him in shock. The old fear, born that night just over two years ago, flooded through him again and he let out a strange squeaking noise, rubbing his arms just as he had then to try and slow himself down once more.

"S-sorry about that," he said, trying to hide how shaken he was about what had just happened.

But Jay was still looking at him like he'd sprouted an extra arm. When the man spoke, he understood why. "I didn't think you could do that yet."

"What?"

"Phase through things."

"I can't," Wally answered in no small amount of confusion.

"You just did. My hands went right through you when you started vibrating."

Wally couldn't stop his mouth from dropping open. "But...but that's impossible. I can't do that."

"You only think you can't. Wally, you are a good speedster. You're very gifted, considering the amount of experience you have. And you're observant. I know you saw, just as clearly as I did, that Bart was worried about something when your Aunt got that phone call. Barry could be in trouble. If ever there was a time when he needed you, it's now. Especially with another person out there that's he's not used to fighting with, even if Bart is good at what he does."

It occurred to Wally then that Jay was not only also a speedster, but also a former crime fighter. He might have seen those strange looks Bart had been shooting at Wally. He, more than either Joan or Iris, probably had a good idea of what was going on, having been in the field. It was difficult to fight with someone you didn't know, even if you did trust them.

And more than anything, Wally wanted, so much, to run with Barry again. To don his costume and pretend like nothing had ever gone wrong. He'd have to watch his speed, ensure that nothing bad was going to happen, but he could do so. He'd had a lot of practice over the past two years doing just that. Even if he hadn't been under pressure of fighting, it was better than nothing.

But he was still scared. What if he did lose control? What if he accidentally sucked Barry and Bart down with him or something? What if he just ceased to exist with no warning? There were so many things that could go wrong...

And yet, Iris was looking at him, pleading with her eyes.

He hadn't had someone look at him like that in so long.

And so, he sighed and resigned himself to running slower than usual and trying to keep his distance from his Uncle and his...first cousin once removed.

"Okay," he said, voice slightly weak. "I'll do my best to help."

"That's the Wally West I know," Jay said, clapping him on the shoulder lightly as his lips curled into a kind smirk. Joan nodded and smiled. Iris, however, walked away. Wally was about to ask her to wait, but she stopped at a linen closet and reached in. After rummaging for several moments, she came out with a box. When she opened it, Wally knew exactly what it was as soon as he saw the bright yellow and red.

She and Barry had kept his costume.

He shouldn't cry. He wasn't a child anymore. Heck, he wasn't even a teenager. But, for some stupid reason, he still wasn't able to stop his eyes from tearing up as she pulled it from the box.

"...You've grown a lot," she said as she noticed how he was actually taller than the costume now. But that didn't matter, because __they had kept it __. He'd always thought they'd probably just thrown it out, but they hadn't and they would never know how much that meant to him.

"Thank you," he said, practically whispering as he reached for it anyway. "Thanks for keeping it."

"Of course. I got it dry cleaned too."

"...How the heck did you manage that?"

"The Flash can be rather persuasive."

He really didn't want to know.

His fingers tingled as he touched the fabric, so familiar and yet so unfamiliar, forgotten over time and yet kept sacred. It had been _so long _. He could feel himself trembling, this time not from his speed. "Oh, Wally, I didn't mean to upset you," Aunt Iris said, sounding slightly sad.__

"No, no you didn't, I just..." He wiped away the tears that had finally escaped down his cheeks. He gave her back the costume, but kept the goggles, figuring they'd come in handy. "It's been awhile."

Iris smiled at him and nodded, re-folding the Kid Flash suit. "I'm sorry. I didn't really think about you outgrowing it."

"I didn't either. I'll just call in a favor," he said. Nightwing owed him for this. Even if coming here had ended up being a pretty good thing in the end, he knew just how awkward and uncomfortable things had been between Wally and the Allens the last few years. So, with that in mind, the redhead pulled out his phone and typed in his friend's number.

"Nightwing here," the younger man answered, and Wally had to chuckle at how absurd that sounded over a regular line. That was of course secured by the Batman himself.

"Hey, it's Kid Flash," best to use that name just in case, considering that he was about to make his first appearance in such a long while. "I have a strange question."

"Been awhile since I've heard from _you _. What's going on?"__

"Do you have an extra costume I could borrow?"

There was absolute silence from Dick and everyone in the Allens' den was staring at him in disbelief or, in Jay's case, amusement. Wally would have laughed if Nightwing hadn't decided to find his voice again.

"Please tell me you're joking."

"I outgrew mine. You and I are about the same size now. I'd ask Roy, but he's too big. Besides, with as many times I’ve carried you, I know for a fact you’ve done something so your suits won’t be affected by my speed."

"My mask isn't designed to protect your eyes in those conditions, though." Which was probably true, considering it had been a long time since they’d gone out together and back then, Dick had usually been able to duck behind Wally’s shoulder if anything came flying at them.

"I'm using my old goggles."

"They'll look terrible with my costume."

"Too bad. I'm out of options."

"KF..."

"Pleeeeeeaaaaaase?"

There was another long silence before he heard a sigh. "Fine. Get over to the cave quick."

"Sure thing dude. Be right there. Thanks." He hung up before turning back to Iris, who was now laughing to herself silently. "I have to go now."

"I know," she said, shooting him a wide smile that he'd only seen in memories recently. "Come back safe."

"I'll do my best," he answered before looking at Jay and Joan. "It was good to see you two. Thanks a bunch."

"Anytime, young man," Jay said.

"We've missed you sweetie," Joan finished.

Wally gave them his old trademark smirk, surprised at how natural it still felt, and then raced off.

He was so excited. Pins and needles of exhilaration poked at him everywhere and he had to actually fight with himself to go within a reasonably safe speed. Still, he made it to Mount Justice within moments. It felt so amazing to hear the computer say "recognized, Kid Flash, B03" that he almost whooped with joy. Nightwing was there to meet him in the entrance, along with Robin, who smiled widely at him.

"That was fast," his old friend said and it was still so weird seeing him in black and blue instead of red and yellow.

"I _am _a speedster," Wally retorted, trying to keep the happiness off his face.__

"Yes, you are. A good one at that. Which is why I made this for you."

Dick picked up a box and Wally looked at it in surprise. He shot a glance at his friend, who gave him a reassuring look, before he opened it.

And promptly dropped the box.

Inside was a Kid Flash costume.

"Batman still has you on file, so I think the measurements will at least be close," Dick said, his voice different than the crisp tone he used as Nightwing. "Welcome back buddy."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Author's Note _: This was one of the harder chapters to write, if only because there were so many more characters here in comparison to the others. If you spot any characterization issues (or anything else for that matter), please let me know so that I can attempt to fix it in my other story I’m working on. Also…because this also came up the last time I posted this, Dick didn’t make this particular Kid Flash suit right then – he’d already had it on hand. Which means he’s made several over the years as Wally has grown. Hey, what are best friends for, right? Anyway, thank you guys so much for the support. This was the longest chapter so far!__


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the battle with Nuetro, Artemis goes undercover and Wally is invited to Bart's birthday party. Not everything goes according to plan once the younger speedster starts spilling the beans about something called 'the Speed Force' and asking Wally about the time he escaped from it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay and thank you so much to all of you for the support! Especially to those of you that have reviewed, bookmarked, or left kudos. You've all been so amazing! Anyway, on to chapter five. This one was rather a monster to write and marks the point where we’re going to start diverging from the show a bit, so I hope you guys like it. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

(Later)

All in all, the battle itself didn't go too badly. It wasn't nearly as smooth as many of the ones Barry and Wally used to have against the Rogues together, but it also wasn't as bad as several Kid Flash had endured with Young Justice. However, Wally would be lying if he said he was happy afterwards. He had been serious when he'd said that he couldn't see the fluctuations between Neutro's energy waves. Perhaps, in that regard, he still needed to practice. But the rest of the battle, he'd had a lot of trouble hiding his speed. And it really had been humiliating when Uncle Barry and Bart had had to practically carry him away from one of the explosions. He'd wanted to run it himself, but as soon as he'd sped up, he'd felt himself destabilizing. Whether or not he'd imagined it was a completely different matter. Wally had been terrified.

It didn't really help matters that Bart could keep up with Barry. He was younger than Wally, and yet he was faster than him. At least, faster in terms that he didn't have to worry about losing his body at some point once he got going. If he hadn't been sure before, Wally was now completely convinced that he really had screwed up with his experiment all of those years ago. There was no other reason why he would have so much trouble in comparison to three other speedsters, all different ages and with different amounts of experience.

There had been one moment where he'd been sure he was going to die...disappear...whatever. He'd seen the final explosion of the battle heading right at Barry and Bart. He'd freaked, wondering how he was supposed to save both of them without pushing too far…when salvation came in the form of Jay Garrick. Wally still wasn't really sure what had possessed the older man to re-enter the field, but he was incredibly thankful. He himself had grabbed Barry and left the smaller burden for Jay and, for a few seconds, he hadn't held back.

At least, not as much as he usually did.

Barry was heavy, but not as much so as Wally had thought he'd be. Once he'd gotten his old mentor situated over his shoulders, he'd taken off. But Jay began to fall behind and he'd felt his hands start to vibrate again, so he'd slowed himself a little. When he was talking to Barry after he'd put him down, he found himself rubbing at his left arm self-consciously and could only make himself stop when Bart gave him that weird look again.

Afterwards, he felt sick to his stomach that, once again, he was _jealous_. He hated jealousy - it was such an ugly emotion. But when Barry said after the battle that he was proud of Bart and thanked him for saving his life, Wally couldn't help but think that he himself done the same thing and Barry hadn’t really seemed to notice or care. He didn't say anything though, trying to ignore the sting of Barry not even welcoming him back. Jay had given him a sympathetic look more than once, and Bart kept trying to hug him, but, more than anything, he wanted his Uncle to want him back.

At the end of the day, Wally went home. Jay had invited him back to the party, and though Bart had seemed excited, Barry had looked awkward at the concept, so he spared his old mentor and decided to run on home, ignoring the ache in his chest and the want to see Iris and Joan again.

Besides, Artemis was waiting for him. It wouldn't be long before she went to finish the final part of Operation: Kaldur is an Evil Person (In Which He was the Exact Opposite), the finer points of which were only known by himself, his girlfriend, and Nightwing. Artemis would be leaving to go under cover soon and would be gone for months, possibly. It would be a pretty lonely time for Wally, who wasn't used to living by himself. But he would get along okay. This was the life, after all.  
Even if he wasn't really happy about it.

It was hypocritical of him, not wanting her to go. After he'd given into the rush of being Kid Flash again, he really had no right to tell her what or what not to do. But that didn't mean he wasn't worried. The last time she'd gone on a mission, she almost hadn't come back. All he could see was her lying in a hospital bed, dying from an internal wound. He knew he was being overprotective, but he didn't really care. He loved her, and that made it okay. The fact that she was going to be behind enemy lines didn't sit well with him.  
It was enough for him to shake the bed with nervous vibrations in the middle of the night.

Dick tried to reassure him, but he wasn't stupid. No one, not even Kaldur, could ensure Artemis's safe return. And once she got into the enemy's hold, things were only going to get more dangerous.

(Later)

Artemis was gone. Everyone thought she was dead and Wally felt terrible allowing them to believe so. Dick offered to let him stay at the cave so he wouldn't have to go back to an empty apartment every night, but that would require him to run back and forth to school at least every day, and considering his near slip up at the Neutro battle, he was loath to try it. He simply said that he wanted to be alone for a while. When his parents asked, he said the same thing to them, and again to Jay and Joan Garrick, but more so out of sheer guilt for lying to them.

Aunt Iris tried to reconnect with him much more after that, which made Wally feel even worse. Dick was right in that everyone probably would hate them all when they found out that Artemis was still alive. But until then, all four of them - Kaldur, Wally, Dick, and Artemis herself - would have to keep up appearances in whatever ways they could.  
So when Iris invited him over to celebrate Bart's birthday party saying that she was worried about him being all alone in his place all the time, he couldn't really find a way out of it. Especially when she kept pushing.

Which was how he found himself, once again, standing outside the door to his Aunt and Uncle's house, not entirely certain how, exactly, he should behave. He was so sick of lying to people he cared for, about Artemis, about his powers, about everything. Life was becoming so difficult because there wasn't anyone he could really talk to. Roy, after he had found the real Roy Harper and watched him for a little while, had pretty much gone off the grid to do something, but wouldn't tell anyone what. He just said it was important to him. As for Dick, he would freak out if Wally mentioned the entire disappearing spiel and had far too much on his plate already.

Speaking of which...When he knocked on the door, Dick answered. Wally blinked at him, honestly surprised to see him there.

"Hey buddy. I think Iris wants to make you as comfortable as possible."

"Right," Wally answered, deciding not to tell his well-intentioned Aunt that he hadn't really held a normal conversation with his best friend in a while. Not to mention that Dick himself was suffering from guilt in asking Artemis to put herself in possible peril. It was obvious whenever he spoke to Wally that he was very uncomfortable, if only because the speedster's girlfriend had been the most supportive person the past couple years and Dick had kind of taken her away in some twisted sense.  
Even if Artemis had agreed to it, which was something Wally had to keep reminding himself.

He entered the house, glancing around as he did so. Iris waved to him from where she was hanging a banner from the ceiling, and Jay Garrick was steadying the chair she was standing on. Joan was sitting on a nearby windowsill, smiling. Wally couldn't help feeling a surge of happiness at the presence of the older couple. Something about them was very calming and helped to put him at ease around the family he couldn't help but think he'd been effectively ripping himself away from in the past couple of years.

That would have bothered him more if he didn't keep thinking about why he was keeping such great secrets. He couldn't allow whatever had happened to him spread or something, especially to Barry, Jay, or now Bart. Not only that, but the more he thought about it, the more real the entire scenario became. Wally was sick of the memories haunting him, but he couldn't break away from them. The most he could do was try and ignore them, which had, as effectively as could be expected, worked up until then.

"Hi Aunt Iris, Jay, Joan," he said to each in turn, gaining a couple of greetings from the latter two.

Iris, however, waited until she'd successfully fastened the last end of the banner and stepped off of the chair. "Wally, hey. It's great to see you. How have you been doing?"

"Okay," he said. "I've been...dealing."

Iris nodded at him sympathetically, and Wally wanted so _badly_ to tell her that Artemis was alive and there was no reason for her to feel bad for him, but he couldn't. He couldn't risk the mission, not when Kaldur and Artemis's lives could depend on it, along with the information Kaldur was about to gain. Apparently, it was something extremely important to do with the League and the Light, which they'd all discovered five years before should not be ignored or put aside.

"Honey, I'm so...so sorry," Iris said, coming over to hug him. Wally tried his best not to stiffen in her grip in the fear that it would tip her off to the truth somehow. "We should have been there right when it happened, but we weren't and _I am so sorry_ , honey."

And he was too, for lying. But he couldn't stop. "It's okay, Auntie. Don't worry about me, I'm...I'm fine, okay? So don't worry about me."

Dick was off to the side and sent him an apologetic face, making sure that the Garricks couldn't see him from their angle. He didn't have his glasses on, seeing as how the Flash clan mostly all knew who he was already and Wally wouldn't have been surprised if Bart did too. The younger speedster seemed to have integrated quite well into their family in the past few weeks.

At that moment, there was a rattle and the door opened to admit Barry and Bart, both of whom were carrying grocery bags and looked rather surprised to see both Wally and Dick there. Iris pulled away from her nephew and looked at them. "Welcome home. Thanks for doing the shopping, you two."

"No problem," Barry said, shooting Wally another look before heading for the kitchen, arms laden with food and supplies. Bart zoomed past him and came back within a matter of a few seconds, leaving the door wide open. Dick chuckled and went to close it, muttering about impatient speedsters.

Bart, however, took no notice and came to a stop right in front of Wally. "Thanks for coming man," he said, wrapping his cousin up in an even tighter hug than the first he'd given before the Neutro battle. "I've been wanting to see you again."

This time, Wally didn't push the smaller boy away, but instead hugged him back, as was probably expected of him after what had supposedly happened with Artemis. Barry came back into the room and shot him a saddened look. As Bart finally pulled away, Wally found himself missing the warmth the kid had given him, longing for it. But he let him go and just stood there.

"Happy birthday," he said, smiling.

Bart grinned back. "Thanks. Sorry it was at such a horrible time, though."

Wally shrugged, trying to look as nonchalant as possible, yet still upset. "It's not your fault. Besides, better to have good things spread out to brighten the bad rather than have them all clumped together. Kind of ruins the effect, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess. I still feel weird being happy after..." he trailed off, obviously not knowing what to say.

Neither did Wally, so after a few seconds of silence, Dick broke in. "It's okay," he said gently. "Artemis was tough. And stubborn. She wouldn't want everyone to get so caught up over her. In fact, she'd probably kick all of us for worrying so much."

"Yeah. She's quite the spitfire," Wally added, realizing that he was repeating Kent Nelson from five years before, but finding it fitting.

After another awkward stretch of time, Barry cleared his throat. "So, Wally, it's good to see you here. I didn't know you were coming."

"Oh, but didn't I tell you? I invited him two days ago. And Dick too," Iris said with an odd glint in her eyes. Wally smirked to himself, silently laughing at his Uncle's expression, as Iris apparently _hadn't_ told him. He wasn't really sure how to feel about that. Was it supposed to be a surprise, or had Iris thought Barry would have been upset if she'd told him beforehand?

It didn't really matter though, because this was Bart's birthday party and Bart had said he'd wanted Wally there. That, surprisingly, was enough for him. At least for now.

"Thanks for coming," Bart said again. "It's nice to see you too Dick. Hey, uh...sorry about that upset in the cave. I really didn't mean to cause so much trouble..."

"Don't worry about it," Dick responded. "I get it. You were excited. No one was hurt and it was no problem."

"If you're sure. Oh! Um...Grandpa Barry told me that no one was supposed to know who you or Robin were. That wasn't really in the history books, so...I'm sorry. I hope I didn't cause any problems with Beast Boy by telling him your names."

"Not really. He's kind of treating it like a game, knowing something no one else does. We asked him not to tell anyone and he said he wouldn't. It probably helped that we heavily implied Batman hunting him down without remorse if he so much as hinted at it."

"Oh…er…good…?" Bart said, obviously not sure if he should be relieved or worried.

From there, the party went along okay. Wally's parents had also been invited, but they'd had some sort of conflict and couldn't make it. That probably was a good thing because practically the whole night was taken up with stories about them doing the hero thing in one way or another. Jay's were the best most of the time. For his age, he had a surprisingly good memory, and what he did forget, Joan seemed to remember from his words. Together, they made one good tale-telling machine and most of their stories were rather insane.

Dick's were interesting too, though much more serious at points. Gotham as a rule was practically Hell on Earth and enemies like the Joker and Two-Face just made it even more dangerous. The only place Wally could really think of off the top of his head that was probably worse was Bludhaven, Gotham's sister city. In those streets, anything was fair game with anyone and the police were practically funded by the main baddie in town. Anyone could get away with anything and no one seemed to care or be surprised anymore. Perhaps that was why it had no hero to call its own. Everyone was too scared to try. Ironic, seeing as how it needed one badly, even with Nightwing's sporadic help.

Barry's stories were tamer...most of the time. At least in a different way. Where many of Dick's had been downright disturbing (he'd tried to make them softer, seeing as what day it was, but Bart had insisted on most, if not all of the sordid details in each one), Barry's were just silly at times. While the rogues could be extremely dangerous when they wanted to be, it almost felt like most of their plots had been the results of boredom. Something to fill the time and keep the Flash on his toes until the next Big Thing they had in store.  
When he'd been Kid Flash, they'd faced down some pretty terrifying things, which was why they never took any of their enemies, unlikely as they were, with anything less than meticulous seriousness. But he couldn't really deny that most of the cases they'd worked had had at least the air of being more for giggles and attention than anything. Especially from the Trickster and maybe Pied Piper.

As such, most of his own stories were basically reflections of Barry's, though he told them differently. Barry gave the facts, sometimes exaggerating things obviously and downplaying others. But Wally, like with everything he did, threw all of himself into his. Hand movements, facial expressions, and sound effects ran rampant whenever he had the floor. A couple of years ago, he might have zoomed around to demonstrate some things, but he held himself back. The last thing he wanted was to cease existing at the first family get together he'd joined since he'd left the field. (The one before the Neutro battle totally didn't count.)

Even Iris and Joan got to tell some of their own, like being swooped away to safety in the middle of a news report or outing by The Flash and having to mentally remind themselves not to say Barry's or Jay's name in public.

Bart liked all of them equally, and though he did share some from his life, it was difficult and they were noticeably edited to prevent 'spoilers' about the future.

They all spent their afternoon like that, talking, laughing, teasing, and telling jokes. Everyone made it a point not to mention Artemis if at all possible, but besides that, it was just like it had been before with a few additions to the group, and Wally could have easily lost himself in his happiness without regret. Eventually, though, it came time for food and Iris and Joan left for the kitchen. The others offered to help, but had been turned down. As Iris nicely pointed out, Speedsters tended to eat more than cook and she would prefer to actually have food to put in the oven, thank you. As for Dick, he'd just gotten lucky.

So that left Bart, Barry, Jay, Dick, and Wally alone, sitting on the floor of the living room.

"So, who's turn was it?" Jay asked, trying to remember who'd told the last story before the hustle and bustle of food being mentioned had taken place.

"Mine," Wally answered, still trying to think of a good one. It was hard though, because both Barry and Dick knew almost all of the ones he had in his arsenal, so he wanted to find one that wouldn't make them bored to recall or hear again. "I'm thinking, so hold on a second."

"Will you tell about how you escaped from the Speed Force?" Bart suddenly asked, eyes wide and curious.

Wally couldn't help but blink in confusion. He quickly searched his memory, but he couldn't think of anything that would pertain to what the younger speedster had just said. "What?"

"You know, the Speed Force! The source of our power."

"...Bart, I have no idea what you're talking about. My abilities came from lightning and dangerous chemicals." Which would have sounded ridiculous if he hadn't known it to be absolutely true. Barry nodded from where he sat, looking rather unsettled.

"Bart," the older man began, "perhaps that was something from the future?"

"No, I know for a fact he's experienced it. Why else would he pretend he can't run faster than the rest of us?" Bart demanded, pointing to himself, Barry, and Jay in turn.  
Silence reigned for a second and Wally felt his heart thud so hard he could have sworn it knocked itself from its rightful place in his chest down to his stomach. "Wally," Dick said slowly, as though thinking, remembering, "what is he talking about?"

He tried to think of a way to answer while not squirming under the four pairs of eyes that were now all set on him. "I have no idea," he said, which was partly true. He _couldn't_ run faster than Bart, certainly not Barry. It wasn't possible. He doubted he could have beat Jay in his prime either. However, there was something lurking in his mind and clawing at his brain. Something told him he wasn't going to like where this was going because there was only one time he could think of that he'd gone anyway near that speed.

Only one. And he really didn't want to talk about it.

"Of course you do!" Bart insisted, eyes narrowing once again in that oddly searching look he kept giving him. "I can tell. You twitch every time one of us uses our speed, like you can feel it. But you don't seem to be consciously aware that you do. That's a classic sign of being directly connected to the Speed Force. Not to mention that you were moving really fast when you carried Uncle Barry away from that explosion, but then you slowed down. Like you were afraid of something. You've been dropping hints everywhere, dude! There are at least a dozen more I could say."

"Wait, what? Wally, what's he talking about?" Barry asked somewhat frantically.

"I already said, I don't know!" This was bad. Bart had noticed. He didn't know how, but Bart had noticed, and now, all of those walls Wally had spent the last two years building were tumbling down. He still didn't really get all of what his cousin was saying, but he understood enough to know that this was one of the worst things he could imagine happening. "First of all, you all know I'm the slowest speedster here (which was true). Second, I don't flinch all the time in battle, at least not from people running around and not at me (also true...at least, he thought it was). Finally, I'm not afraid of my powers (blatant LIE, but no one had to know that)."

"I'm not so sure about that first one, Wally," Jay said, looking thoughtful. "You _did_ manage to phase through my hand before the battle with Neutro."

"HE WHAT?" Barry and Dick said at the same time.

"Told you," Bart smirked.

"That was a freak accident!" Wally defended. He really hadn't ever managed to do that before. Phasing wasn't easy, and he'd had enough failures in trying to know that he was lucky Jay was still here at all. "I'm surprised I didn't blow you up like normal. I'd never done it before that and I haven't been able to since."

"But it happened," the old man pressed with a wry smile. "You managed to do it, which means you move faster than we all thought. Bart seems to be right in those regards. So why, exactly, don't you want to share this story?"

"There's no story to tell! I've never heard of the Speed Force before now, so how could I have escaped from it?"

Bart suddenly slapped himself in the forehead. "Doi, Bart, spoilers!" He turned to Wally before continuing. "I forgot that you probably don't know what it's called. People like us go the Speed Force for a number of reasons, the most common being that, when we use too much of our power at once, it tries to suck us in and drain our energy. The most frequent way it happens is if someone runs too fast."

Wally's throat went completely dry. "I don't-"

"What do you mean, it 'tries to suck you in'?" Dick asked Bart, though his gaze was trained on Wally.

"Well, the speedster that was running would hit a certain speed and then would start disappearing."

"DISAPPEARING?" Barry's voice boomed out louder than Wally could ever remember it being, save for some instances in battle.

"Yeah." Bart smiled at his cousin. "I always wondered why you always warned me to slow down as a kid. Now I know. Your incident was never catalogued in history, so you guys must've done a good job at hiding it."

Wally had too many thoughts flying through his head at the moment. What had happened to him was _normal_? There was no way that was true. Judging from Jay's and Barry's expressions, he wasn't the only one who thought so, especially not after feeling how wrong the sensation was. But even if it was normal, that didn't necessarily mean that Wally wanted other people to know. None of them would ever look at him the same way again, that was for sure. Not only that, but if they suddenly thought he could go that fast on a whim, which he couldn't, that was a problem. Not to mention the fact that he hardly ran at all anymore for fear of it happening again.  
He had to divert this conversation somehow, as impossible as that sounded.

There had to be something he could do or say, but he never really was good with words or people. That was part of the reason he and science got along so well. Or maybe it was the other way around. But none of that mattered now - he had to find some way out of this. He didn't want to talk about it, wasn't ready to face it, and wasn't even sure he really wanted to try.

"Bart, I can't go that fast. It's not possible for me."

"But you did once," the smaller boy shot back. "Come on! I want to hear about it!"

"I'm not-"

"Would one of you be willing to help with drinks?" a voice broke into their argument. Jay opened his mouth to answer, but Wally, seeing his chance, was by his Aunt's side in the kitchen and away from prying eyes less than a second later.

"Sure thing, Aunt Iris, just show me what to do."

It wasn't until he tried to grab a glass out of the cupboard that he'd realized his mistake. Joan and Iris hadn't seemed to notice, too wrapped up in cooking, but he was vibrating again. _Fast_. His hand went right through the mug he was reaching for.

Wally tried his best to fight down his panic and was doing very well, until he realized that the speed he'd taken to get to Iris had been much faster than any he'd ever pulled in front of the others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to all of you that have stuck around this long. I hope you liked this chapter! Please tell me if there's a way I could make this better, as I'm still kind of uncomfortable in this fandom. Thank you again!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bart's party continues on like a funeral dirge, Wally and Dick have a long-overdue talk, and then a new villain appears on the scene who may end up making everything far worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pebblekit: Hi everyone! First of all, let me just say that I am literally in shock over the support everyone has given me with this story. Thank you so much to everyone! Also, I apologize for the delay again. This is my senior year at University, and I've gotten CRAZY busy and been a bit sick. As I mentioned before, I haven't actually read that many comics, which might be far more apparent from here on out. The world of "Young Justice" is quite far and apart from the comic universe, so I thought it would be okay if I changed some things regarding the Speed Force. Not to say that it's nothing like the comic, but rather to say that I'm not very well versed in the Speed Force itself. For example, I've been asked on the other site that this story is posted on if it is somewhat sentient here. Wally does explain it somewhat later, but it's more that once someone goes there, they are officially caught in its net. They can struggle, but never really escape. Another question I've been asked was whether Wally would become able to siphon the speed from things and such. Honestly, this story isn't going to last that long. Wally would be able to at some point, but right now, he's not experienced enough. Not even Barry can do that as of now. 
> 
> Also, fair warning. I mentioned a couple of chapters back that this is a Wally/Artemis story, but that there would be some very tender moments of friendship between him and another character. The main one is here in this chapter. It's nothing crazy or anything, just very...bro-ish? Yes. Also, I apologize for some of the formatting errors that you've probably seen in the last few chapters. When I post here, all of my formatting from Microsoft Word disappears and I have to redo it here, but I sometimes miss things. Sorry about that. Now, onwards!

(Later)

The party was much tenser after that. Iris and Joan were unquestionably aware of the heavy atmosphere that had settled over everyone, but neither brought it up, for which Wally was grateful. Barry kept staring at him and Jay glanced over every minute or so. Bart seemed upset over something, though it was impossible to tell what and Dick kept 'accidently' ramming his elbow into Wally's ribcage. Overall, everything was going better than Wally had feared.

Iris had managed to get a pretty good conversation going, but it petered out after a while. Wally had just enough time from seeing that odd look settle over Bart's face again to tense, preparing himself before-

"Wally, do they really not know?"

The red head stabbed at his burger with a fork in frustration, ignoring the strange looks the action garnered from everyone at the table, as he thought of how to answer. "...I don't know what you're talking about."

"You're in denial."

"Will you just drop it already?"

"NO!" The sudden volume increase caught everyone off guard and Wally was relieved to notice that he wasn't the only one that'd jumped in their seat. Bart looked sheepish for a moment and continued in a much softer tone. "Wally, this isn't something you should hide. Do you realize how dangerous it is to be touched by the Speed Force? Only a few have escaped from it, and those who have always end up getting sucked into it later. Once it has its hold on you, it won't let you go. It'll keep pulling and pulling until you lose control and run right into it."

"Which is impossible for me. I can't go that fast."

"You _can._ All speedsters _can._ The difference between them and you is that you've actually _done_ it. And now that you have, it will never let you rest. It'll beckon to you and beckon to you until you can't stop yourself. Surely you've noticed recently how hard it is to go slow? How easy it is to lose control and go fast?"

Wally paused in his mission of building a fort out of his fries, realizing with a sinking dread that what Bart was describing defined his life for the last couple of years down to a tee. He glanced up, seeing Barry and Jay looking at him, and looked back down before he could confirm if Iris and Joan were too. Dick was picking through his own fries rather gracelessly, which Wally knew meant that all of his friend’s attention was on the conversation next to him rather than his food.

Wally didn't answer. He didn't know how. Now that Bart had spoken, it wasn’t like he could feasibly hide it anymore. There was no point in keeping the lie up any longer. 

No point to keep hurting himself any longer.

It was a lengthy moment before he got up the courage to answer. "...how do I stop it?"

There was a gasp across the table from Barry as Wally finally confirmed what had happened. He looked up in time to see Jay close his eyes and bow his head slightly. Iris and Joan seemed confused, but horribly worried when they witnessed their husbands' reactions.

Dick had gone entirely still, but not like he did when he was working as Robin or Nightwing.

Dick Grayson was in shock and had failed to hide it.

Wally would be hard pressed to decide if that scared him more than the actual disappearing thing.

He looked down again, somehow already knowing the answer before it came.

Bart, for once, was quiet. "You can't."

Wally stared at his food for another moment before nodding, feeling far more tired and composed than he had in a long time now that everything was out in the open. He'd figured two years ago that someday, this would come back to haunt him. Had figured he'd be lucky if it didn't hurt him, if not kill him. But that didn't make hearing the proof of it any easier. A slight bit of fear crawled up into stomach, almost making him nauseous and unlike any he’d felt before. After all, just an hour ago, everything had been possibilities and worries. Now, he knew exactly what he facing and that there was no way to beat it. No way to run from it. 

But that didn’t mean it could take the rest of whatever life he had left. 

He was silent for another moment before taking a deep breath to pull himself together, putting on the biggest smile he could manage, and looked up to Barry. After all, this was Bart’s birthday and it had gotten far too somber for the occasion. "Hey, Uncle Barry, could you tell us the story of how you met Batman? I don't think we got to that one earlier."

Barry stared at him for a good long moment, his jaw working. He had a lost expression, like he'd just heard Wally be handed a death sentence (which he kind of had) and didn't know how to respond to it. There was another silence, heavier than the others, before Dick finally broke it.

He was still looking at his food, still as a grave, and his voice was quieter than Wally had ever heard it. "I don't think I've heard that one before." Even though he totally had.

"Nor have I," Jay added, looking up again and rubbing his forehead warily. "I should very much like to."

Barry nodded slowly, hesitantly, opening his mouth to say something, but stopped at the last moment and shook his head. Then he began his story.

There were a lot more pauses for recollection and fumbled words than usual, but everyone still listened intently. And when Barry had finished, Jay Garrick picked up with how he'd met Alan Scott, the Green Lantern of his time. Then Joan recounted the first mission of the Justice Society of America from a spectator's standpoint and Iris followed up with her version of the Justice League's maiden voyage. Dick related how he'd met Superman and Wally himself told of when he'd first fought side by side with Robin. Bart passed, saying he couldn't think of anything that was safe to tell them.

It was almost ten o' clock by the time everything started to wind down. Or rather, should have started to wind down. Jay, Joan, and Bart were staying the night at the Allens' and it was probably close to their bedtimes. But Wally could tell that everyone was really tense, Barry in particular, and he couldn't help but try and dodge all of their gazes. When it came time to go home, he couldn't remember ever feeling so relieved. He could tell that his Aunt and Uncle wanted to talk to him, but he really didn't want to. Especially not in front of the others. Somehow, both seemed to understand without words.

"Come back soon, honey," Iris said with a look that promised unimaginable agony if he refused. "I mean it."

"Yeah, it's been too long since we three just had a nice chat," Barry added.

Wally heard the implicit message and nodded, knowing that he wouldn't be able to worm his way out of it. "Right. See you later. Bye Mr. and Mrs. Garrick. Bart."

All of them tried to give a smile to him in turn, though most of them only looked like uncomfortable grimaces. Wally ignored that as best he could and turned to walk out, Dick at his side. They'd decided at the beginning of the party that the speedster would run the other back to base afterwards and it seemed that those plans hadn't changed.

Dick was heavier than he used to be, and much bigger, but he was still very light for his actual size. Barry had been heavier in the Neutro battle, and it was decidedly less awkward in Wally's opinion giving someone a piggyback than it was to carry someone over his shoulders. It only took a little while before he was stopping in an alleyway in Gotham (his friend had mentioned that he'd wanted to use this entrance back before the party). Dick thanked him as he settled himself back onto his own feet and the two wordlessly began to walk towards a telephone booth nearby.

It wasn't until he had picked up the receiver that Dick finally spoke once more. "Would you come with me?" His voice was the same quiet tone it had been at dinner.

Wally knew he couldn't refuse a request like that, not when his friend, who was usually so strong, hadn't sounded so broken since the day Batgirl had shown up to join the team. So he just gestured for the younger man to lead the way and followed him. The sensation of crossing through the zeta beam into Mount Justice was familiar, but almost forgotten. Wally could feel Goosebumps pop up all over his skin as he stepped through the bright light to beyond, an unbridled amusement rising in him as the computer announced his arrival as “Kid Flash, B03” despite the past couple of years. The inside of the cave was cool and slightly damp, but not enough so to be bothersome.

Wally couldn't help himself and looked around, recalling old memories back to the forefront of his mind. No one seemed to be around. What with it being a Friday night, they were probably in their own rooms, with their families, or out with friends. He and Dick passed through to the bedrooms, going by the living room, kitchen, training room, and some others before they reached the long hallway at the back of the base that connected to everyone's personal spaces.

Dick had lived here since he'd moved out of Wayne Manor, at first not having anywhere else to go, and then doing so to save money with the plan of later getting a place of his own. Having graduated a year early, on top of duties as Nightwing the younger man was also going to college and had a part time job. How he managed to juggle all of that without super-speed, Wally would never understand.

They finally reached Dick's room after what felt like an eternity. It was surprisingly neat with only a couple of shirts and a pair of pants scattered around. There was a bowl on his desk, though Wally had the intense impression that it'd only gotten there earlier that day, and his bed was unmade. Everything else was very orderly and clean. Even the floor looked like it'd been vacuumed recently. Dick went to sit on his bed, flopping down on it with a deep sigh. Wally smirked at him and pulled out the desk chair to sit on.

Dick placed his arm over his eyes, obviously thinking about what to say but not sure. Wally wasn't either, so the two just sat there, the awkwardness flowing freely between them. Dick finally sighed again after about five minutes and sat up to look at his old friend. "Wally, why didn't you tell us about this?"

He sounded hurt, so hurt, and Wally felt his stomach clench at that. "I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to upset you. I just...It scared me. I didn't know how to deal with it."  
"You quit being Kid Flash two years ago, Wally. _Two years._ We could have helped you."

"I didn't want to tell anybody. It's not like I had a heart attack or fainted, Dick. I started to _disappear._ Do you have any idea what it's like to look at your hand and be able to see through it? Or to look at your legs and see that they aren't there?" Dick didn't respond, but his mouth twitched, hinting that he was growing slightly more sympathetic. Wally continued, unable to stop now that he’d started. "I thought it was just me. I'd always been slower than Barry. Much slower. Then, the moment I went faster than usual, something like that happened...what was I supposed to think?"

"What did you think?"

Wally exhaled loudly, trying to figure out the best way to word his response. "That I was different than Barry and Jay. That maybe I'd screwed up in recreating Barry's experiment and that my powers were incomplete or just...wrong. I was terrified that if I went too fast, I'd just stop existing. I even thought that if I got too close to another speedster, I might affect them too."

Dick seemed to think about this for a moment. "But what about me? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to talk about it. But besides that, I didn't want to burden you with it," and he realized, in no small amount of surprise, that that was true. "You were just about to become Nightwing. Jason had replaced you. Batgirl had just shown up. You didn't need that sort of problem on your plate, especially when your relationship with Batman had been thrown into the trash so soon before that."

"I could've handled it," he retorted, though Wally noticed he didn't look as sure as he usually did.

"Dude, you were hardly sleeping and dead on your feet. There was no way. I was going to tell you later, but we kept getting more and more distant from each other. And then Jason..." he couldn't go on there. Jason, troublesome as he had been, had still been a member of the team, and though Wally hadn't been as close to him as Dick, he'd still thought of the kid as a sort of pseudo-younger-brother. As time went on, he found himself missing the second Robin more and more, and he was sure Dick felt even worse.

Dick sighed yet again and looked down at his lap. "I'm sorry, Wally. I'm not upset with you, I'm just...upset."

"Yeah, I got it," the speedster responded. He'd expected a lot worse.

"So...what exactly happened?"

Wally took a moment to craft his story, not sure how to tell it. After all, this would be the first time he spoke of it out loud. "Well, Batgirl had just come to the Mountain for the first time and you were really sad. I needed to run, like I always used to. To escape, I guess. Clear my head. But once I started, I just couldn't stop. I went faster and faster until I couldn't feel my legs anymore. At some point, I looked down and...there was nothing."

"Like...you were just gone?"

"Yeah. I could see the ground, but not my feet on it. Once I stopped, I could feel wind, but it was a still night. It spread after that, and I started to see a new place, but it was like something out of a dream, and it got clearer the longer I was there. I thought...I thought I was going to get stuck there. That it was purgatory or something, and that I had died. Kind of crazy, huh?"

"No," Dick answered almost immediately, and Wally's eyes narrowed in surprise. "No, it's not. Wally, you _disappeared._ I'm honestly shocked you didn't just go insane right then and there. It's no wonder you quit being Kid Flash." The younger man stood at that and started pacing in a small circle around the room, tugging at his shirt every now and then. Wally tried to follow him with his eyes for a little bit, but stopped when he started getting dizzy, choosing instead to just look at the middle of the room and listen. "All this time, I thought something was wrong. I knew something had happened, something you weren't telling us. I thought maybe you'd gotten hurt or something, but...nothing like this. Never like this."

"Dick...I'm okay," Wally answered worriedly, waving his hands slightly. He'd never seen his friend so strung out over something before, and it was quite disturbing. "See? Okay."  
"But you're not," Dick shot back, turning to look at him. Within seconds, he was right in front of Wally and was reaching out to grab the sides of his face. The speedster stared, not sure what to think of the soft grip or the bright blue eyes that were now boring into his own green. "Every time I see you, you're struggling. You're fighting with something I can't discern, can't understand. You used to love your power, Wally. But now you're afraid to even use it. And this Speed Force thing isn't going to go away. Bart said you can't stop it, that no one's escaped from it before, and he's from the future. I just...I don't want to lose you, Wally. Not like my parents, or Jason. I can't."

And suddenly, watching his best friend who was always so composed fall apart so utterly, Wally’s eyes were weary and tearing up. He found himself grabbing Dick's face in turn, so that they were holding each other, looking right into each other's faces. "Hey, hey, look at me. I'm okay, alright? I'm right here, right in front of you, and I don't plan on going anywhere else any time soon. So what if this thing follows me? I'll just go slowly, like I used to. Everything will be fine."

"But it pulls at you, right? To run faster? I can tell. I can see you struggling not to follow it. I felt it when we were running tonight. How is that 'fine'?" At that, Dick pulled away and turned to stare at the wall.

Wally stood and walked up behind him, lifting his hands to settle them on his friend's shoulders, but he pulled away at the last second, not sure if physical contact would be welcome or a good idea at that point. "...You're right." It felt so good to finally talk to someone about this, but at the same time, he was still so scared that he had done something wrong, that whatever it was could get worse. "It's hard for me. But I've managed this long. I'll just have to keep on managing."

"You can't run from it forever," Dick's voice was quiet, but sharp.

"No, I can't."

"What are you going to do when it catches up to you?"

"I think it's me that's going to catch up to it."

"And what will you do once that happens?"

"...I don't know."

And he didn't.

Dick didn't either.

For the first time in two years, Wally slept at Mount Justice.

His old room had been given to Bart, but it didn't really matter. He had the feeling that he wouldn't have been very comfortable in there anyway.

He slept in Dick's room. They had grown, so it wasn't as comfortable to share the bed as it had been before, but they managed. This time, it was Wally who ended up dry sobbing into Dick's shoulder.

(Later)

Barry called him the next day. Somehow, he’d known to find Wally at the Mount Justice Cave (probably through the all-knowing Batman). Though his Uncle sounded pretty neutral on the phone, there was an undertone of sorrow that the speedster had never heard from his former mentor and tried his best to ignore it. It was hard though, because he kept getting the impression that the older man was just reconnecting with him because he thought his nephew was going to die. While probably not far from the truth, it certainly wasn't a thought that Wally wanted to have, especially after he found out that he probably _would_ die soon.

Or, at least, go to the Speed Force.

He still didn't quite understand what that meant, but the prospect of it alone terrified him.

He hadn't been the most faithful in his life, but he'd always believed that he'd go to heaven when he died. Or maybe Hell. But now, he wasn't sure what to think. If he went to this place, did that mean he'd never be able to move on? Bart had said that the Speed Force would suck all of his power out of him. Did that mean his soul too? Or his life force itself, assuming he was still alive when he got there? He had too many questions and not nearly enough answers. As the day went on, he got more and more agitated, more freaked out.  
Barry wanted him to come back to his and Iris's on the next Friday so that he could spend the night afterwards and Wally couldn't decide whether he was excited or terrified. He stayed at the cave until then, running back and forth to college once the weekend was over. It was hard to control himself, but he somehow kept from running too fast. Many of the Young Justice members kept giving him odd looks, obviously wondering what he was doing there, but Wally couldn't bring himself to care. His apartment had gotten very quiet since Artemis had left, felt very empty, and he found himself much more comfortable in the base than he had been since she'd gone undercover.

Dick stayed close to him, as did Barbara and Tim, who had probably been told what had happened, or at least knew something was up past the speedster just being lonely at home. Bart came in now and then, shooting him sympathetic glances at every turn, but Wally couldn't bring himself to ask anything more about his fate. He wanted to talk to Barry and Iris first, as strange as that sounded. Right then, he just wanted to think about what had happened up until then, not what was going to happen, and he wanted to try and remain ignorant as long as possible.

The day he was supposed to go meet his Aunt and Uncle came much faster than he wanted it to. However, just as he finished his homework and was about to head over to their house, Nightwing got a message from Watchtower. Wally was right by his friend's side when it came through and thus got to see, for one of the first times in his life, Batman visibly ruffled. "Nightwing, we need you right away."

"What's going on?" Dick answered, suddenly all business in comparison to the jokey manner he'd been sharing with Wally moments before.

"A new enemy has come up in Central City. He's taken out the Flash and Impulse." Wally could have sworn his heart stopped at that, imagining Barry and Bart hurt somewhere in the city. "Some of the Rouges have been trying to lend a hand, but to no avail. Wonderwoman, Aquaman, Green Arrow, Red Arrow, Black Canary, and I are already there, but we're rather ineffectual at the moment. He's too fast for us to catch."

And that made it worse, because if the Rouges had intervened, that meant that they had felt their own territory be threatened, or they thought it best to get involved. On _Flash's_ side. It made no sense. Not only that, but six Leaguers, including two of the big three, couldn't bring whoever it was down. Dick was absolutely silent for a couple of seconds before he responded. "Do we know anything about him?"

"Not much. But he is a speedster."

Wally blinked and spoke before he could stop himself. "What? Are you sure?"

He would have thought Batman had rolled his eyes, but his face was always sour. "Yes, Wally, I'm fairly certain, being that I've been trying to fight him for the past half an hour. None of us can keep up with him, so none of our attacks are reaching him. Red Arrow managed to skim his shoulder once, but he's eluded everything else."

Batman was being sarcastic. The world had to be coming to an end, Wally decided. "Did he say where he came from? Though Bart implied there are a lot later on, we've never actually seen another speedster, save for Impulse and Jay," he responded, Dick nodding beside him.

"He mentioned something about the future, but we can't be certain. Impulse said he might have unknowingly opened a door when he came through with his time machine, but he highly doubts it."

"I thought you said he already took out Impulse and Flash," Nightwing interrupted confusedly.

"He did. Flash has a broken leg and Impulse several broken ribs and a dislocated shoulder. They're healing fast, but it will still be awhile before they can re-enter the battle. I believe the enemy was targeting them specifically, not just because of the similarities of their powers. His costume looks to be almost an exact reverse of the Flash."

Barry, and now apparently Bart, had always healed faster than Wally, but he knew that, even if they did mend, their bones would still be more vulnerable for a while, weaker for few days. The thought of an enemy that had come from somewhere just to fight them, to hurt them, sent a protective instinct surging through him, intense enough to almost make him stagger over. He almost didn't notice that Nightwing was speaking again. "What do you want me to do?"

"A good number of the Justice League is off world. Martian Manhunter, One of the Green Lanterns, and the Atom are on their way to help, but we're concerned it might not be enough. I need you to bring in reinforcements from Young Justice as soon as possible. Leave the younger members. This is not going to be an easy battle and we can't risk their safety. We need Superboy, Miss Martian, Batgirl, and Blue Beetle. The last two are risky, but Batgirl has experience under this sort of pressure and Blue Beetle's technology might have a way to slow this enemy down."

"I want to go," Wally said before he could stop himself.

Nightwing turned to stare at him while Batman's eyes narrowed. "You are too unpracticed. I need you to stay at that cave and keep everyone calm. If something should happen, Young Justice is the last line of defense."

So full with worry, Wally practically ignored the fact that Batman had essentially put him in charge. "I need to help! The Flash and Impulse are out of commission. Most of the current Young Justice members hardly know me. Why do you think they’d follow my command? Besides, this guy is a speedster, right? Superman is unavailable and Superboy doesn't have super speed. You need me! At the very least, I could at least tell you where he is if he's going fast."

Thinking back to Neutro, how Uncle Barry had seen those pulses, but he himself hadn't, he wasn't sure if this was necessarily true, but he would be better than nothing. Besides, it was Barry and Bart. They were hurt. Others could be too. He couldn't just let this happen, not when he could help.

Batman seemed to contemplate for a moment before nodding slightly. "Very well. Bumblebee will be left in charge of the cave and remaining members. Get the ones that are coming over here as soon as possible."

The transmission cut off and Nightwing immediately started calling the people Batman had asked for. Wally ran off to Dick's room, where he'd been crashing, and dug to the bottom of his bag. He pulled out the Kid Flash costume that he'd taken to keeping with him ever since Artemis had gone under cover. Something about it just gave him a sort of comfort.

Now, he put it on faster than he ever had before and raced back to the entrance of the cave, where Conner, Dick, and Barbara were already gathered and waiting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thank you to everyone who has supported me in any way through this. Kudos and bookmarks are highly appreciated and any reviews will go towards improving (hopefully) my writing, especially in my other story: _The Antics of Speedsters and Robins ___\- which is honestly a lot trickier than this one just because Damian and Iris are a bit of a challenge. Any advice and/or questions are welcomed wholeheartedly. Thanks again to all of you.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wally joins the battle against the Reverse Flash and faces the choice of using his speed despite the consequences.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thanks again, so much, to all of you that have left kudos, a comment, or bookmarked this story. It helps me more than you can know. I kind of hinted at this before, but this chapter, actually, is based on an episode of "Justice League Unlimited", in which Wally unlocks the Speed Force. HEAVILY based on it. This storyline is something I thought of, but didn't really intend to write until I saw someone else prompt it on the YJ!anon meme. Then the plot bunnies attacked. This chapter really isn't my favorite, but I did my best with it. There was a lot of effort here, but I'm not sure how it will actually come across. I'm sorry if it's lackluster and I hope you all at least somewhat like it! Now, onwards through the fog!

(Later)

The battle was absolute mayhem. By the time the members of Young Justice had gotten there via zeta beam, Green Arrow, Trickster, and Aquaman were out cold, Black Canary was bleeding rather heavily from a gash down her back, Green Lantern, which in this case was Hal Jordan, had a heavy head wound that was severely upsetting his powers, and Batman himself was nursing a limp wrist. There was a yellow and red blur that would disappear and reappear every now and then, slamming bodily into people and sending them flying into buildings and such nearby.

Wally could see him. He really was the exact opposite of the Flash, with his yellow outfit and red gloves, boots, and bolt of lightning down his front. He almost looked like an adult version of Kid Flash. Wonder Woman was trying to lasso him, but he had thus far evaded her, having the advantage of speed and seeing everything in slow motion. It was slightly comical to see her working side by side with Pied Piper. Captain Cold was past them, trying to freeze the road where the Reverse Flash would pass, but was really just causing more issues for those working with him, as they all kept slipping on the ice.

Nightwing led Wally and the other Young Justice members over to where Batman and the other injured Leaguers were hunkered down behind an overturned van. The unconscious, including Trickster, were gathered there as well, having been dragged to relative safety by their teammates. The Flash was peeking around the van at the battle, clutching his leg as he did so. Impulse was slumped next to him, panting and grabbing gently at his sides, which someone, presumably Batman or the Flash, had already wrapped thickly in bandages.

Those who were conscious all looked up as the newcomers arrived. Green Lantern looked at Kid Flash in no small amount of confusion. "What are you doing here?" he asked only to receive a disapproving look from almost everyone else. "I didn't say I didn't want to see him!" he said in defense. "I was just surprised is all."

"I'm here to help in any way I can," Wally answered, smiling at him, though it was somewhat weak.

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea, Kid," Flash muttered slightly. "I mean...isn't it a bit dangerous for you to be running around right now?"

That hurt slightly, but Wally reminded himself that Barry was just trying to look out for him. "I'm fine," he said, trying to convince himself as much as everyone else, who were now looking at him questioningly.

"And we're glad. It's good to have you back," Superboy said, slapping him on the shoulder so hard Wally's knees buckled slightly.

Miss Martian smiled at him and nodded. "Indeed we are." She then turned to Batman. "I tried to read his mind as we came up, but I believe he has some experience guarding against such things. I found out some, but not as much as usual."

"What did you discover?" the Dark Knight responded, tying off the bandages he'd just wrapped around his wrist.

"He calls himself the 'Reverse Flash'." Fitting, Wally thought as Miss Martian answered. "He seems to blame The Flash for something, but I can't figure out what. He is from the future, but I can't tell from when. He has a lot of anger, but he's having a lot of fun fighting with us."

"More like toying with us," the Green Lantern said in a dark voice. "I hadn't even sent out a construct before he slammed into my back and ran me headfirst into a car. I can't even see straight now."

"Don't move," Flash advised, lifting his leg into a more comfortable position. "You might have a concussion."

Batman turned to Wally. "Can you take him down?"

"I don't think so," the speedster answered, looking back at the battlefield and watching as Martain Manhunter dove towards the ground only to crash into it when the Reverse Flash moved suddenly to grab his hand and pull him down faster than the alien could react. "But I can tell you where he is."

"I can attempt to catch him with a telepathic net." Miss Martian suggested.

"Sure thing," Wally answered. "He's right next to that black car there."

Miss Martian went quiet while everyone else pulled out whatever weapons they had if any and got into position. Wally watched, but after a moment, he blinked and the enemy was gone. He startled, frantically searching for the yellow costume, but was caught completely off guard when the man appeared before him.

"Hello Wally," he said with a crooked grin. Kid Flash jumped and stepped backwards. Several things flew at him from the other heroes, but the Reverse Flash simply laughed and phased himself out of tangibility before they even got close. Superboy tried to grab him, but ended up running right through. Blue Beetle was trying to aim his own weapon, but the enemy was staying close to Kid Flash, so he couldn't get a clear shot without putting his teammate in danger.

"Get away from him," Flash said, automatically launching himself forward to try and stand, only to slump because of his bad leg.

Reverse Flash just laughed again. "But why? We're having so much fun. Aren't we, Wally?"

Kid Flash braced himself, getting ready to run while ignoring the voice in the back of his head demanding to know why this guy knew his name. "Yeah, we're having a blast," he said as he leaped. He was fast enough to catch the man off guard and managed to push him, but he wasn't heavy enough to bring him down. Superboy came in and punched Reverse Flash before the enemy could gain his bearings and sent him flying. But as soon as he hit the ground, he tumbled and was gone in a blur. Wally cursed and looked around, trying to find him. This was not good. The man was dangerous enough when they knew where he was.

"KF, look out!" Impulse's voice called and Wally dove to the side without even bothering to see what Bart was warning against. Reverse Flash zoomed right past him, grazing past his back as he came from behind and Wally just managed to dodge the brunt of the blow. The enemy just skidded to a stop and turned faster than the younger Speedster could easily track, coming back.

"Move!" Wally warned, jumping again to the side. M’gann, who was behind him, wasn't fast enough, however, and she screamed as she was tackled harshly into a building nearby. Reverse Flash slammed her into it hard enough to knock her out and let her slump unceremoniously to the ground. Nightwing threw a cable to tangle up the man's legs, but, again, the gadget went right through.

Green Lantern sat up where he was resting on the ground and tried to use his ring, but by the time he'd lifted his hand to do so, Reverse Flash was gone again. Impulse cursed very loudly. "I remember this guy now," the young speedster said darkly. "He's the one who-" and he suddenly fell silent as everyone looked at him.

Batman folded his arms, which would have been more impressive if he wasn't obviously trying to be gentle with his hurt wrist. "Who what?" he demanded.

"Um...spoilers?" Bart sounded unsure. "I'm not sure I should tell you."

"Impulse, we don't have time for this," Green Lantern said roughly, though he was still somewhat gentle with his tone. In the back ground, they heard Wonder Woman grunt and then there was a giant crash. Wally caught a glimpse of yellow and red, but lost it again. He might have been able to see the enemy more clearly if he sped his whole body up, but he was trying to hold back, to not go faster than was safe. Though it was so tempting, so hard not to. Everyone was in danger- surely he could take the risk just once. But then, it only took once, right? Green Lantern continued after a moment. "If you know something that will help us, it'd be much appreciated if you were to share it."

"But I can't tell you about the future! Kid Flash was right, I could crash the time stream!"

"It might not matter at this point," Nightwing retorted. Superboy and Blue Beetle left to join the other Leaguers in the thick of the battle as Batgirl pulled out some batarangs and got ready in case the enemy visibly came into her range. "Our evil friend obviously knows KF, and he's not afraid to make it apparent that they have a history. He might crash it himself."

"But..."

"Impulse might be right," Flash interjected. "This guy is a speedster. It stands to reason that he'd be the enemy of one of us three," he gestured to Wally, Bart, and then himself. “It's not really that surprising to me that he knows my sidekick's identity, or mine for that matter."

Wally couldn't help the happiness that rose in his chest when his Uncle called him that. They hadn't been partners in a while. Too long a while. And somewhere in his mind, Wally had assumed that Bart would take his place at Flash's side. He hadn't expected how good it would feel to be wanted, maybe even needed.

Then, the rest of Barry's words caught up to him. "Wait, he knows who you are too?"

"Yeah, he called me by name when he got here. Pied Piper heard and took no time at all to ask me if he could call you 'strawberry' from now on because of your red hair. Sorry about that."

Wally tried not to chuckle. He really did. So a raspy choked noise came out instead. Nightwing gave him an amused look as Impulse just looked confused. It wasn't good that one of the Rouges knew The Flash's identity, but Wally couldn't help but feel a slight relief that it was Piper and not Captain Cold or someone. Piper would joke about it, but probably not actually use it. The guy was weird like that. Barry seemed to share the sentiment.

"But that doesn't mean we can arbitrarily look into the future," Black Canary argued from where she was leaning against a fire hydrant. Her back was still bleeding sluggishly, probably from getting hit by sharp rubble or something. She cupped her mouth and tried directing her canary cry towards where Captain Cold was trying to fend off Reverse Flash Cold Gun, but the enemy was running too fast perpendicularly to her for it to do much harm.

"True, but what else are we going to do?" Batgirl retorted, throwing a batarang. "Wait and pray for him to stop? Because, at this point, it doesn't look like he's going to."

Wally silently had to agree. "I'm having trouble keeping up with him," he admitted, but didn't mention that he probably could have if he wasn't worried about the repercussions such an act could bring.

"Impulse and I did too. He runs about the same speed as us, but he knows how to fight us. We've never gone against another speedster, so we were caught off guard," Barry added. His leg seemed to be getting better and he could move it slightly, but it still wouldn't support his weight. "Do we have another option at this point? If we don't take him down fast, this is all just going to get much worse."

Batman nodded curtly and turned back to Impulse. "So?" he prompted.

Impulse, however, was staring sheepishly at the ground. "I just...don't think this is a good idea."

Wally, at this point, was getting worried. As he watched, Captain Cold was taken down with a rather vicious punch to the face and was lying still on the ground. Martian Manhunter had been battered a little more and was struggling to keep fighting. At the moment, he couldn't see Reverse Flash anywhere. "Impulse, whatever it is, we can handle it," he said as he turned to look at his cousin. "Don't worry about it."

Bart, however, was still staring at the ground, contemplating. He finally spoke, his voice surprisingly strong in comparison to his vulnerable expression. "He's The Flash's nemesis. But...he was beaten a while ago. We thought for good. Maybe something changed when I got stuck here."

"What do you mean?" Barry asked when Bart went silent for a moment.

"The Flash took him out. Made a great sacrifice to do it too. No one's seen this guy in years."

No one said anything for a moment. Wally felt a rising dread, as he supposed everyone else did, but the moment was interrupted as Superboy went tumbling by, rolling straight into a car nearby at a rather impressive velocity. He was okay, but it was still a sobering sight and Nightwing finally cut in. "Did...Did Barry...die? Or something?"

"No," Bart shook his head. "It wasn't him."

"But you said the Flash-"

"Wally beat him," the small speedster interrupted. "He...he beat him, but it was a hard battle. You see...he always watched us, you know? The kids. While everyone else was out fighting, he would babysit us because he was the only one that could keep up with all of us. He'd hurt his knee at some point and it'd gone bum. He couldn't easily run very well anymore, at least, not well enough to be in battle on a regular basis. That night...I think that was the first night he'd actually fought in a while. Reverse Flash...or Professor Zoom as he called himself then, found out where he lived. Most of the heroes were out on missions, so a bunch of the kids were there. Wally protected us. He fought the hardest he ever had, even though it was painful for him. In the end...he disappeared." He looked up at Wally at that point, his eyes piercing. "Into the Speed Force."

"The what?" Green Lantern asked, but Kid Flash wasn't paying attention. His mind had drifted off, back to that day, so long ago yet not. Two years before, when he'd almost disappeared. He could feel Barry and Dick looking at him, but he was too busy sorting out his thoughts to pay them any mind. 

Bart had called him, _him, Wally West,_ the Flash. That, in and of itself, was amazing. But not only that, he'd presumably died that day, protecting children. Protecting Bart.

That...He was okay with that. 

He'd even thought about it when he'd first gone too fast - that he'd always fight until he died in the line of battle or retired. Though he had always hoped the latter would be because he was old, he'd always been aware of the other possibility, that he'd be injured or something and unable to continue. But, that apparently hadn't stopped him in times of emergency. Especially with children involved. 

He'd saved them. 

He was okay with that. 

But now, things had changed. 

Now, Professor Zoom or whatever was here in the past, and he was screwing everything up. Wally looked around him, at all of these amazing people that had changed his life. Who had cared about him and supported him as a sidekick, and had accepted his choice when he'd quit without explanation, even if they made it obvious they didn't agree with him. 

He looked at Dick, his best friend who had always been there from him. 

He looked over to Red Arrow, who was running out of arrows but still standing strong on the battlefield, bruises and cuts ignored. Roy. His other best friend who taught him the essence of tough love but gentle, yet brusque kindness. 

He looked at Bart, who had believed in him from the moment he'd come from the future. Believed in the cousin he'd known would return to the field at some point. 

He looked at Barry, his two-in-one hero as his Uncle and the Flash. Who'd given him his life. 

And he was _okay._

Without a word, he turned to the battlefield and stepped out from behind the overturned van, ignoring Dick's sharp "KF, what're you doing?" 

They'd all believed in him. They'd kept his costume, made him a new one, let him come back after such a long absence, welcomed him as an old friend rather than a teammate who had given up. 

They needed his help. He was the only one at the moment who had a hope of keeping up with Zoom. Even so, it would take all he had, all the speed he could muster. He knew exactly what that would mean.  >

_And he was okay._

___Reverse Flash was a pretty short distance away, hand reaching out to grab Pied Piper in a choke hold, and Wally readied himself to run. "NO, WALLY, DON'T!" Barry's voice rang out behind him, shrill and hoarse, but Kid Flash ignored it, bounding towards his enemy. Zoom saw him coming at the last second, but didn't have time to dodge as Wally slammed into him. Again, the younger speedster wasn't heavy enough to do much damage, but he did manage to save Piper, who looked at him with wide eyes. The Rouge nodded to him and started back stepping. His flute had been reduced to splinters earlier in the battle, and the fact that he'd chosen to stick around was rather shocking to Wally._ _ _

___Reverse Flash recovered and stood before him, making Kid Flash realize that he was a good foot or so shorter at least than the man. "Hello again, Wally." It was kind of creepy how much he sounded like Barry, but with a sharper drawl._ _ _

___"...Zoom," he responded, trying to remain calm. Piper was nearby, watching the exchange closely as he snuck as inconspicuously as possible towards the collapsed Captain Cold. As soon as he reached him, he started to drag the other Rouge towards the overturned van all of the other injured were behind._ _ _

___Batarangs suddenly flew, probably from Nightwing and Batgirl, as did an arrow from Roy, but Reverse Flash just went intangible again. "Kid Flash, get out of there!" Barry yelled, crawling out from behind the van._ _ _

___"I forgot how close you were to Batman," Reverse Flash said to Wally, and for a second, the younger speedster was confused. He and Bruce hadn't gotten along very well since the entire bringing-Jason-to-the-base thing. But he understood, somewhat, when the man finished. "I forgot he used to wear Blue with the Black. You know, he switches to red later, after he goes back to being Nightwing after Batman?"_ _ _

___Wally was still reeling, trying to wrap his head around the fact that Dick would someday be the Dark Knight, at least for a while. But he shook it off. "I don't think you should tell me too much about the future."_ _ _

___The man laughed creepily. "Why not? You won't be around to remember it. Do you honestly intend to fight me, boy?"_ _ _

___Wally didn't answer. He wasn't really sure what to do. Yeah, he'd beaten this guy in the future, but he assumed he was bigger then. As he was now, he wasn't heavy enough to really do anything to this man before him. The only way he could actually hurt him would be to get more momentum._ _ _

___Well, that was an idea._ _ _

___He thought of that night, two years ago, when he'd crossed countries in seconds, and made his decision. He took a few steps back and then turned, darting off in the opposite direction. His feet, finally unhindered after so long, flew faster than he'd thought possible, wind rushing past his head. He soared by forests and oceans and plains. He passed through many places, the scenery continuously changing as he raced the wind itself. In a few moments, he was back in Central City. He had just enough time to see the Reverse Flash's face morph from one of smugness to shock before he ran bodily into the man. But he didn't stop there. He kept running, right through the inverse of his Uncle and on._ _ _

___He went down narrow streets, through wide areas of nature, past people of all races, ages, genders, and through dark tunnels past traffic. Over and over and over again. He knocked the Reverse Flash, who didn't have time to recover after each hit, back and back, probably breaking ribs as he went. He felt his own elbow pop out of place on one go round when he hit the man the wrong way, but kept running even as he squealed in pain. There was nothing else to do now. He had to keep going. If he gave any quarter, Zoom would gather himself and go back on the offensive. Wally was still light, but his attacks were damaging now. He just needed to knock the man out. Just needed to make him stop..._ _ _

___On fourth time around, his feet disappeared. His legs were gone by the sixth. By the ninth, he couldn't see most of his torso. Finally, on the eleventh lap, Reverse Flash fell and didn't get back up, completely winded. Wally went around once more, this time skidding to a stop at the end, tearing up a huge gouge in the street as he did so. Zoom was out of it, collapsed and unconscious. Superboy and Wonder Woman were edging closer to him, trying to figure out the best way to take him into custody. Wally fell to his knees there, gasping, watching, trying to gain control of himself. Now that he was still, he could feel adrenaline running through him, taking over, and he was trying his best to banish it._ _ _

___Nightwing was running towards him, supporting a limping Barry as Batman was helping Impulse. Red Arrow was right behind. Wally wanted to go to them, but his legs, wherever they were, felt like jelly._ _ _

"Wally, _Wally,_ what did you do? Why did you do that?" Barry was frantic. As soon as he got close enough, he slumped in front of his nephew and reached to grab either side of his face only to have his hands go right through. 

____Wally opened his mouth to answer, to sooth away the horrified look that had crossed his Uncle's face, but a bought of nausea came over him and he had to close his eyes and take a moment before he could speak. "I'm fine, Barry, I'm okay. This is okay. I'm okay with this."_ _ _ _

____Barry's face, cowl or no, was covered in disbelief and grief. Bart wasn't much better. "You idiot," the younger speedster was saying. "This wasn't supposed to happen yet. You weren't supposed to...you idiot."_ _ _ _

____Pied Piper came up behind them, and Wally felt a prick of confusion as the Rouge frowned at him in terror, seeing him disappear. Piper was worried about him. How weird was that? "What's going on? What's happening to him?" the Rouge said, voice strained, for once sounding as young as his file said he was._ _ _ _

____Wally wanted to answer, but he could feel himself going. His sight was starting to take on a world past the one his friends were in. He saw a forest, and a beautiful place beyond. He didn't have time to say all he wanted to, so he settled for a 'thank you all, so much' before he was gone, spared from seeing the hurt expressions everyone gave him, everyone else still conscious coming up behind those that already had._ _ _ _

____Wally faded. The one thing he'd been afraid of, so afraid of, for two years, was coming true._ _ _ _

____He was fading._ _ _ _

_And he was okay._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right, so again, I'm not too fond of this chapter, but I hope it was okay. Thank you all for reading and please tell me of any way I can improve my writing. You guys have really helped me out so far. Sorry for any typos up to this point and from here on out. Thanks to all of you for sticking around! Next chapter should be up soon, and then there's only one more after that. We're reaching the end, folks.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No one has ever returned from the speedforce, but that doesn't mean that Barry can't at least _try _to bring his nephew back.__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pebblekit: Hey guys. Thank you all so much for sticking around this long and for the amazing response I've been getting. This chapter, as was the last, is partly based on the "United We Stand" episode from "Justice League Unlimited". This one starts the aftermath, which is finished in the next and final chapter. In other words, we're coming to the end everyone. Thank you for everything! Any comments/questions/concerns will be put towards improving my writing in the future. I hope you guys like this chapter!

(Barry)

Wally was _there._ He was there and now he _wasn't._ It was in that moment that Barry really understood. He'd realized at Bart's birthday party that his nephew had never wanted to quit being Kid Flash at all, but rather that he had been scared, cursed. That something had happened and Wally had been terrified enough to give up one of the most important things in his life. Barry had always known what it meant to his nephew that his Uncle had accepted him into his world, even after he'd done something so stupid as to mimic Barry's experiment. But he was beginning to realize that he had never really _understood._

______He had thought, after half a year had passed and Wally hadn't reclaimed his place as his sidekick, that maybe the younger speedster had been serious when he had left behind his old life for his new in college. Now though, it was glaringly obvious that he had been wrong. Wally had experienced something Barry never had. He'd gone faster than any speedster before him. This the Flash knew, because he hadn't been able to see his nephew during the battle with Professor Zoom. Wally had run faster than he himself could keep track of._ _ _ _ _ _

______He had this day, and he had two years ago. All alone._ _ _ _ _ _

______Barry couldn't help but feel a terrible guilt rise in him. How many times had Wally asked him for help, with or without words, and he had ignored him? How many times had his nephew called, and he had chosen not to answer the phone just to avoid an awkward conversation? How many times did he and Iris neglect to invite him to their house?_ _ _ _ _ _

______Wally had eventually stopped asking for them. Had stopped calling, stopped requesting to come over._ _ _ _ _ _

______Had stopped hoping that someone would just help him._ _ _ _ _ _

______Barry could see that now, even if Wally himself hadn't been aware of what he had wanted._ _ _ _ _ _

______And now, he was gone into the Speed Force. Barry had been right there and his hands had gone right through his nephew, unable to save him, to pull him back._ _ _ _ _ _

______"Wally?" Wonder Woman was calling out and Flash remembered that she, along with almost everyone else there, had no idea what had just happened. "Where are you?"_ _ _ _ _ _

______There was no answer. Not that Barry was surprised._ _ _ _ _ _

______"He's gone to the Speed Force," Bart said sadly, looking about ready to cry. "No one's ever come back from there. I knew I shouldn't have said anything. I knew it was a bad idea."_ _ _ _ _ _

______"What is the Speed Force?" Green Lantern asked again, looking equal amounts confused and terrified. "What happened to him?"_ _ _ _ _ _

______"He disappeared...just like that," Pied Piper muttered as he started to rub his arms, as though he had suddenly become cold. "He's gone. I waited for him to return for two years, and now he's just...gone. "_ _ _ _ _ _

______"No, everyone! Wally is still alive," Martain Manhunter exclaimed. Barry looked at him, hope rising in his chest before he could even think to stop it._ _ _ _ _ _

______"What are you talking about? Is he okay?" If there was some way..._ _ _ _ _ _

______"He is, but he is weak and his life force is fading. Fast." J'onn stuck out a hand, feeling the air. "He is close...right...not here..." he walked slowly, eyes closed, "right...here!" He stopped very close to where Wally had disappeared. "There is some sort of portal right here, but it is closing. We must open it now if we want Wally back."_ _ _ _ _ _

______"Wait a second!" Black Canary said, "Bart just said no one had ever come back before. What if one of us gets sucked in? Do we even know if this is safe?"_ _ _ _ _ _

______"It's not," Batman stated as stoically as ever._ _ _ _ _ _

______But Barry didn't care. His nephew was in there. Was in possible trouble. There was no way he was going to let him suffer. Let him die. Not if he could help it._ _ _ _ _ _

______Before he really knew what he was doing, he'd hauled himself up on his bad leg. A lance of pain shot through his body, but he could move it now, if somewhat stiffly. He hobbled forward with super speed, which in his condition equated a quick walk to a normal person. His movement was so sudden that no had time to stop him before he'd reached out to the area next to J'onn's hand._ _ _ _ _ _

______There was nothing there, but yet there was something and he grabbed onto it. He felt nothing physically, but he just knew that there was a gate there, and he was going to open it. As he tugged, something budged and a bright sliver of light appeared, as though from behind the door that he was pulling on. The light got bigger and he felt it trying to take him in. A small wind started up, and if he hadn’t been wearing his cowl, his hair would be flying towards the light which had grown to a full circle. He could feel the presence of someone come up behind him and then heard Nightwing - no, Dick, this voice was Dick's - speak. "Wally? Are you there?"_ _ _ _ _ _

"...Dick, is that you?" And Barry felt like _crying_ when his nephew's voice floated out of the circle of light, even if it sounded…drugged. That was the only way to describe it. The wind grew slightly in strength. Barry swayed on his leg towards the entrance and Dick grabbed him. Roy walked up on his other side, face scrunched in an odd expression that Barry wasn’t sure he’d ever seen before. 

________"Wally, walk towards the door. Hurry!" the older boy said._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"...It's so beautiful here, Roy. So pretty. There's a forest and everything."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Wally, come home. Please." Barry's voice was much more raw than it had been before._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"I can't. It won't let me. Bart was right. I can...I can feel it sucking the power right out of me."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"None of you go any closer," Batman was saying, though he sounded remorseful somehow. "We have no idea what would happen if you do."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

But again, Barry _didn't care._ That was his nephew in there, his friendsidekick _partner._

____________He wasn't going to let Wally slip through his fingers. Not again. Certainly not for good._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________So he reached forward and plunged his arm through the circle of light, surprised when Dick and Roy did the same. As soon as they breached the surface, the wind from it picked up, becoming so powerful that Barry's feet slipped along the ground towards it, his bad leg screaming in pain. But he didn't pull away. He had to find Wally, even if it meant going in there himself._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________He moved his hand around until his fingers brushed against the material of a fabric. It had to be the Kid Flash's costume. There was no doubt in his mind, though he had no idea how he knew and he quickly grabbed hold of it. Then, there was a hand, clutching his on the other side. "I've got him," he said and Dick and Roy moved to grab onto their friend as well._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________The wind got even stronger, and this time, Barry let out a grunt as his bad leg cricked dangerously. He tried desperately to maintain his place, but was being pulled in. Then, before he knew what was happening, there were suddenly arms around his waist. "Hang on," he heard Pied Piper's voice from very close behind him as the Rogue’s chest pressed into his back. "I've got you, Flash. And don't you dare let go, Strawberry!" he yelled at the portal._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________There was a soft laugh and Wally sounded tired, so, so tired as he answered. "You guys need to let go. I don't think I can go back. I don't want you to be sucked in too." The younger speedster's grip on his Uncle's hand disappeared, but Barry just held on tighter._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"We won't!" Bart's voice came out from nearby and his arms wrapped around Dick's middle. "We won't let you go. We're bringing you back!"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Right! Everyone, help! Now!" Superboy yelled as he gripped the back of Roy’s shirt tightly._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Soon, everyone that was still conscious, including Green Arrow, who had woken up at some point towards the end of the fight, was piling around, grabbing hold of someone in front of them and pulling. The wind grew more and more powerful, but they slowly managed to take steps backwards, away from the portal. Soon enough, Barry's, Dick's, and Roy's hands reappeared, along with Wally's wrist. They, as one, pulled and pulled._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Wally's shoulder came back through, then the side of his torso. Eventually, his face and head came, screwed up in what looked like pain. Barry's heart clenched at that, but he fought it off as best as he could. They had to finish this, had to get him back. There was no question about it._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________The wind came stronger and stronger, but they were winning...and then, Wally tumbled completely out of the portal and collapsed on the ground. The door closed behind him. Barry pulled the younger speedster close, sitting on the ground by him. For the first time in too long, he hugged his nephew, settling his chin on Wally's head. "You're back," he said quietly, his heart slowing from its racing pace. "You're here. You're here and I'm not letting you go again."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Dick and Roy both had their hands on Wally's back and everyone else was watching, but Barry really didn't care. He didn't care what they thought, he was so relieved, so happy. Wally was there in his arms, against all odds. He loved this boy. Loved him like his own son. They may have lost each other for a while, but that was Barry's fault - probably more so than Wally's - and he sure wasn't going to allow it to happen again. Never again._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"B...Barry," Wally was shivering, probably in adrenaline or fear. "Uncle Barry...I don't...I don't think I can go that fast again."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"That's fine, kiddo," Barry answered, ruffling his hair and pulling him even closer. "You don't have to. You never have to again. You're safe now."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Thank you. All...all of you," Wally said. "Thank you so much."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________He pulled Barry even closer, as though his Uncle was his anchor._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Nobody else that was there said anything, but their support and relief were tangible._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________(Later)_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"So what was it like?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Wally had to think long and hard, unsure how to answer his cousin. He finally settled on "it was beautiful."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Really?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"The place, yes. The...sensation, not so much."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Of having your power taken?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Yes." It had been suffocating, like someone was siphoning the very essence of his soul out of his body._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Did it hurt?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"...In the way that an empty well hurts a thirsty man, yes."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"...I'm sorry, Wally. I should never have told you about that night."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"No, it's fine. I'm actually glad you did."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Really? But why?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Again, Wally had to chew through his words in his mind before he decided on how much and what he wanted to say. "In high school," he started, noting Bart's look of confusion at the subject change, "I was always the geek. People made fun of me, bullied me, or just ignored me. Whenever we played dodgeball in gym class, I was always everyone's target. Always. So when I joined Young Justice, I thought of it as a chance to rebuild myself. I flirted with the girls, tried to stand out instead of fade into the background...I did everything that the popular guys at school did. But that wasn't me. Artemis brought out the best in me, and Dick and Roy were always supportive. But everyone else saw me as the jokester. There was nothing else to me."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Wally, what are you talking about?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

He smiled at his younger cousin. "It took me a while to realize this, but I started to think that there really _was_ nothing to me. I was just the back-up guy, the one that was called in when no one else could go. I figured that, so long as I was in the field, that's what I would be. But...when you told me that I helped you kids, that I did good, all by myself, despite my own problems...It made me feel like I could do anything." 

____________Bart stared at him. "So, me telling you how you died made you feel good about yourself?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Not so much that, but rather that I was willing to put myself aside for others. I realized that I was okay with dying like that. I know it sounds weird, but that somehow made me feel...free almost. You know?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"No, I don't. Not really. But I think I understand somewhat. I..." the kid hesitated, as though he wasn't sure he should say what he was thinking about. But, after a moment, he made a determined face and met Wally's eyes. "I left the future to change the past."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Wally looked at him in something that was almost disbelief. "I thought you wanted to see Barry younger and got stuck here. That's what you said."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"I lied. I came back to change something, to stop something from happening so that the future would change. I thought for sure when I did it that I was going to wipe my own existence or something. I thought I'd at least randomly change into a different person, maybe have different memories or something. But I still decided to do it. I had to do it, to fix the horrible future I lived in. But despite that, I still wasn't sure it would actually work. In the end, I forced myself to come back and try anyway, figuring I couldn't make it any worse. I...if someone had told me that I would succeed in what I wanted to do, it would have made it much easier for me to decide to come. So, I think I can understand, at least somewhat."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Wally was still staring at him, unsure exactly what to say, when Bart gave him a reassuring smile and spoke again. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have burdened you with that."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"No, it's fine. I'm glad you did. You shouldn't keep these things on your chest. Trust me when I say that I speak from experience."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Thanks Wally."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Sure. If you ever need to talk about something, I'm here."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"I know. By the way...you don't have to worry about Artemis."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Wally effectively froze. He'd been trying not to think about his girlfriend. Nightwing had lost contact with her and Kaldur about a week before, and since then, both he and Dick had been rather quiet and terrified about their friends. The speedster had no idea what to make of Bart's words, nor did he know how to respond. Because those words could mean so many things, some not as good as others. "I...I don't know what you mean."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Bart looked at him knowingly. "Don't worry about her. Or about anyone else's reactions. Everything will be okay."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"They're all going to be so angry with us. When they find out, I mean."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Yes, they will. But they'll understand and they'll get over it. They won't be angry with you so much as they will with the fact that Artemis and Kaldur had to take the risk in the first place."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________At that moment, Uncle Barry and Aunt Iris came in. They were all at the couple's apartment, but the two had left to get groceries, leaving Wally to watch Bart. The Garricks followed the Allens in, waving. Wally smiled back at them, not having expected them to be there, but happy all the same. "Hey Kid. Nice to see you again," Jay said, grinning broadly, a twinkle in his eye. "I heard about your battle with Reverse Flash. Great job."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Yes, we're so proud of you," Joan added._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"I...well, thank you, but...I didn't really do anything. Just ran is all."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Which, I hear," Jay retorted, "was quite a feat for you at the time."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Wally felt a small blush cross his face and found himself at a loss for words. "I just...tried my best. No big deal, really."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Jay and Joan both smiled widely, but said nothing. "Well," the old woman said, "we can't stay. We just came by to pick up Bart and ran into Barry and Iris on the way by chance."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Bart nodded and walked over to them. "Bye, Wally. Grandpa, Grandma."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Bye, sweetie. Feel free to visit any time," Iris gave him a hug._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Yeah, see you later squirt," Barry ruffled the young speedster's hair._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Bart's smile could have ended an apocalypse as he turned to follow Jay and Joan to the door. "We'll be around, so don't forget about us," Jay said with a wave._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Yes. All of you should come over soon," Joan finished._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Will do," Barry answered._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________As they all were about to go out the door, Bart paused and turned back. "Hey, Wally?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Yeah?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________A small smirk gathered on the young speedster's face. "You always were my favorite babysitter. Still are."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Wally really didn't know what to say, especially because at this point, he'd only watched Bart once, namely earlier today, and they'd ended up talking about some very deep things. "Thank you," he said quietly. "I try. You're a good kid, so that helps."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Bart's smirk grew, and then he, along with Jay and Joan, was gone._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Wally was left alone with his Aunt and Uncle, both of whom were looking at him almost like he was a huge piece of meat or something. Actually... that wasn't a good simile, but he really couldn't think of anything that would be more suitable. Both of them were staring at him like they hadn't seen him in years and had thought him dead in a ditch somewhere just to have him come waltzing through the door one day._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________He shifted slightly uncomfortably, which drew two sympathetic expressions._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Oh, Wally, I'm so glad you're here," Iris started. "I'm sorry we came on a little strong. It's just...it's been so long."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________It hadn't really. Bart's birthday was fairly recent. But it had been awhile since there weren’t so many secrets between them. So much tension. It was oddly suffocating in a sort, having some of the lies washed away but having others, the ones about Artemis, still hidden so deep they were becoming a festering wound. It hurt to hide those things, and the weight of it was crushing Wally. He had to call upon Bart's words- that everything would be okay - to keep himself from spouting the truth. He wasn't entirely certain whether his cousin had told him the truth or whether he was just trying to make Wally feel better, but he tried to ignore that idea as much as possible._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"It has," he answered after a moment. "Thanks for letting me come over to watch Bart. We had fun." Which they had. The younger boy played a mean game of 'Go Fish'._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Of course. It really is nice that the two of you are getting along."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Yeah, it's almost like I have my own little brother or something," and Wally couldn't help but chuckle a little at that. Dick had always told him that, though he no longer lived in the Wayne manor, Jason, Tim, and even Barbara to some extent, were his siblings. Wally had always been a sort of surrogate older brother to them as well, but it was never really the same. He wasn't one of the bat clan, not really. Now, he felt like he might finally understand fully what his best friend had been experiencing for the last couple of years._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"I'm glad you think of him that way," Iris answered with a very warm smile, but it sobered quickly as she continued. "I talked to Nightwing the other day. He said you were thinking about re-joining Young Justice."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Wait, what?" Barry demanded, startled. "How do you always know these things when I don't?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Well, I usually tend to pay attention to things while you tend to take them in stride."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Usually, sure, but..." Barry looked over at Wally and the younger boy lilted a little under his Uncle's heavy gaze. "Is it safe for you to be running around like that?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Wally shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. "I don't know. I...I still feel the pull of the Speed Force, but...it hasn't been as bad since you guys pulled me out of it. Besides, I spent two years learning to control my power so that I wouldn't get dragged in. I've slipped a few times, but I think I can handle it."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"But, Wally, I just...I can't handle losing you again. Not like that." And Barry's voice was so open, so raw. More so than Wally had heard since he'd woken up in the hospital room after being struck by lightning at thirteen years old._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________The younger speedster had to gather himself before responding. "We are heroes. Both of us have always known that one of us might go out on a mission and not come back. You were fine with that before when I could've died. How is this any different?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"I was never fine with that," Barry replied quietly, silencing all of Wally's racing thoughts. "I was always scared that something was going to happen. The first time you got hurt, I nearly fired you, because I was so scared. But you were so happy and so excited to be running with me. I...I was lonely, being a speedster. Being faster than everyone else. Jay told me that he’d always felt the same. That's part of the reason I took you on. It was selfish of me and stupid, but I did it anyway because I wanted someone to understand. But I was always scared something would happen to you that I couldn't fix or handle."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"We both were," Iris added, her fingers fumbling slightly with the fabric of her shirt. "I can't tell you how many times we talked about it and asked ourselves whether we were doing the right thing or not, letting you throw yourself into danger. We usually decided that it was good for you because you were learning to control your powers and that you would have just gone out on your own anyway, but we still worried all the time."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________It was touching, hearing them say that, but Wally felt so bad that they'd felt that way all along. And he hadn't seen it. He'd known that Barry had always second guessed himself about having a sidekick, but he'd always thought that he himself just wasn't doing well enough in the field. He'd tried to push himself harder and harder, often getting himself hurt. In essence, he'd ended up making the problem worse rather than better. "I'm sorry. Really. I never knew you were that upset about it. But I am grateful to you both. When I was Kid Flash, I think that was the happiest I'd ever been in my life. Seriously. You guys have no idea how much you've done, how much you've given me."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Barry smiled slightly at him, but there was still a sort of sadness about him. "Now you want to go back to that, don't you?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Yes. I'm tired of not being able to do anything when I see someone in danger. I'm sick of having to watch whenever something big happens. If I run more, it'll be easier for me to deal with the Speed Force down the line. Jay was right. I can't let it keep ruling my life. I'm going to take back control, in a way that makes me comfortable and happy."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Are you sure this is what you want?" Iris asked, though her expression showed that she already knew the answer._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Yes," Wally replied without hesitation. Since he'd come back from...beyond, he'd had a little time to think. Running again had been so wonderful, and he was so sick of sitting still all the time. Dick was able to pull off college and super work, and he didn't even have speed, so surely Wally could too. And if he returned to the life, Artemis wouldn't feel bad when (not 'if', never 'if') she came back if she decided to stay in the business. He couldn't ask her to stay away if she really didn't want to, and she'd shown a lot of interest in the idea even before she'd gone undercover. It'd be so much easier for him to accept if he was right there with her._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"I understand," Barry said, though he still sounded worried. "Just be careful, okay? You have no idea what it felt like to see you just...disappear. You have no idea."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"I will," Wally nodded at him, trying to sound reassuring. "Dick and I agreed that I'm going to have at least two partners with me on all missions for a while, one of which is going to be Superboy, just in case." It probably wouldn't make any difference. It'd taken a lot of people, Connor included, to pull him out last time, but it was a nice gesture._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"That sounds smart." Barry seemed a little more at ease after hearing that, but he still looked upset about something._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Iris seemed to notice, glancing at her husband, and quickly excused herself. "I'm going to go start supper now. You two stay here and talk for a little while, okay?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Wally, despite it being stated as a question, knew an order from his Aunt when he heard one. "Sure," he said, though he was suddenly fretting about what his Uncle had to say._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Iris was gone in what seemed like seconds and, not for the first time, Wally had to wonder whether or not Barry's speed had rubbed off on her._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Barry himself cleared his throat awkwardly before motioning to the couch nearby. "Why don't we sit down?" Wally nodded and both sank into the cushions, taking a moment to get comfortable. Barry was very silent for a little while, compiling his thoughts. "Wally," he finally said, and the younger boy jumped at how sudden it was. His Uncle looked at him apologetically before continuing. "Why didn't you tell anyone what was going on? Why would you suffer in silence like that?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Wally sighed. He'd been through this with Dick, but Barry was different. Barry was a speedster, and he knew how it was to have to run fast all the time, to feel the tug of _justgonow._ But he didn't know what it meant to ignore that call, to purposely slow himself down enough to not have to worry about something that no one really understood. How could Wally possibly explain this? 

______________"I was just...scared. I had no idea what was going on. I thought I might have screwed up when I copied your accident and had gotten some wonky version of your powers. I was terrified of what would happen if I kept running and I didn't know if it was possible to pull you or someone else in with me if you happened to be too close. I just didn't know. And since you'd never mentioned anything like that happening, I was worried you'd think I was...dysfunctional or something. I was scared you wouldn't want me to be Kid Flash anymore."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________"I would never have thought that, and I certainly wouldn't have pushed you away. But, Wally, you quit yourself. I knew something was wrong, but you were lying and I didn't know how to deal with it. You had never hidden anything like that from me before."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Wally squashed down the guilt rising as he said that, thinking again about the Artemis problem. "I thought it would be easier if I made the call myself. I was...I was so scared, Barry. I needed help, but I didn't know how to ask for it. You were half right back then. Dick had just been fired and... I just...I couldn't handle you doing the same to me. If I was the one that quit, then it would have been my decision. I wouldn't have to hear you tell me to go away. I know that sounds wrong. It was and it was selfish, but I was so terrified. I'm sorry I hurt you and everyone else, but...I didn't know what else to do, where to turn. This had never happened before. I watched you, just in case it happened to you too, but you seemed safe, so I didn't say anything."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Barry didn't answer for a long while, staring at his nephew and Wally felt more and more awkward as the minutes ticked by. Or seconds. But they felt much longer to him. "I thought it was something to do with Dick's situation, but I never thought...Wally, I never would have just left you alone to deal with something like that. I'll admit I didn't handle it at all well when you quit. I abandoned you. But I never would have done that at the drop of a hat because of something like this."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

"Looking back, I know that. But at the time, I felt like my world was coming to an end. I lost Kid Flash. And I was so scared I'd lose you and Iris too. I know that's not possible, but I was panicking then. And as time went on, I just...I just couldn't go back. It hurt being around people that had what I wanted. Again, it was entirely selfish, but...Barry, I was so _scared._ I can't possibly help you understand any better than you already do because you're such a good person and you would never have just run away from your problems like I did." 

________________"What? Wally, you're not a coward. And you're not selfish. In fact, you're one of the most selfless people I know."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Wally actually had to laugh darkly at that, because his Uncle was so wrong. A selfless person would have tried to stay anyway, would have kept fighting, regardless of the risk to them self. "I am. All of my decisions were made to cater to me and no one else."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________"Except Artemis."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________"I'm still selfish with her."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________"Even if that's true, I think you deserve that, after what you went through."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________"But I don't!" this time, it was Barry's turn to jump as Wally found himself on his feet, anxiously pacing back and forth in front of his Uncle. "I ran away, Barry! I couldn't handle it and I ran away! I pushed away every person that could help me because I was afraid of what they'd think. I refused to try and find a way to deal with it and chose to just...stop everything instead. A real hero would have stayed! A real hero would have told you and tried to fix it just in case it happened to you too! A...a real hero would have tried and fight rather than turning their back." By the end of his outburst, Wally was gasping. His eyes were blurring with tears that he was hastily trying to fight back. It wouldn't do any good to cry. He'd cried enough in the past two years, especially that first night with Dick after Bart's party. He had no right to mourn anymore._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________"...You're scared," Barry finally said, eyes wide._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________"What?" Wally was caught off guard._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________"You're still scared, aren't you?" Barry demanded._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________"Well...yeah. I almost disappeared. I did. The Speed Force was, as I told Bart, beautiful. But...it was empty. There were people there, but I didn't know them. You told me I was gone for about five minutes, but to me, it was weeks. Time there is separate from time here. I don't ever want to go back there. Of course I'm scared. But it's time I take control of myself again. And I will."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________"That's not what I meant."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________"What're you talking about?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________"Wally..." Barry stopped for a second, unsure. "We're not going to leave you."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________"What?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

"You didn't do anything wrong," he stood and walked over to his nephew. Wally took a step back only to run into the wall, staring up at the older man. Barry's hands were heavy as they settled on his shoulders, his face worn and strained, but kind. "You did what you thought was right, and you did it well, especially in a panic. You were worried you'd spread it to others, so you removed yourself from the situation. You did the right thing, son. And I am so proud of you for giving up what you loved for the sake of others, even if that was only a small part of it. Even prouder that you came back, despite what it would do to you. You've done nothing wrong. And you don't have to be worried anymore. We're going to work through this, together, even if it never goes away. We're all going to work together. I will never leave you to deal with this alone ever again. _Never._ " 

__________________It was at that moment that Wally became aware of a weight in his chest. It had been there for a while, he realized, growing and growing since the first moment he'd started running that night, two years ago, and gone too fast. It had been getting worse, but he hadn't noticed, too caught up with trying to get along in his new life without the family he'd come to trust with every fiber of his being. His Aunt and Uncle loved him, he knew that, but he'd been so afraid they'd push him away, see him as a failure._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________It was at that moment he realized that that fear had never gone away, but had simply grown into an uncontrollable lump resting over his heart._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________It was at that moment that Barry banished it, drawing his nephew into a hug even tighter than the one after he'd come back from the Speed Force._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________Wally had never felt so at ease before. And it only got better when Iris came in from the kitchen and joined them._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that is the end of the second to last chapter! Thanks to everyone that has stuck with me this far. It's been absolutely amazing and all of you have given me some great feedback that I will take to heart. That being said, I'm thinking about possibly making a sequel to this, but I'm not entirely certain I will. It'll either be that or a story that is about Hartley Rathaway and James Jesse leaving the pre-reboot comic universe (because they're frustrated with no one trusting them) and coming to the Young Justice continuity. I'm not sure which I'll go with, but either one will have to wait until I'm a bit further in _The Antics of Speedsters and Robins. _If y'all have a preference for which one you want, let me know and I'll take it into account. Thank you all so much for your support! Just one more chapter to go...__


	9. Chapter Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wally decides to finally take his life into his own hands, embracing a couple of surprises and possible challenges along the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there everyone! I apologize for the delay. I just graduated from University and am now trying to get my life in order, so I've been really busy. BUT! It's time to finish posting this story. I can't really explain how awesome this journey has been. Thank you all so much for the continued support you've shown me all through this and for all of the advice you've given me. I really can't explain how much you all have helped me. I may revisit this continuity at some point and write a sequel, but for now, I'm writing a fan Pied Piper comic with a sibling of mine who is an amazing artist and another fanfiction about Pipes and Trickster in the Pre-reboot era. So, this one may eventually be continued, but it'll be on the back burner for a while.
> 
> Thank you all so much! You have no idea how much this has helped me revive my writing spirit. Now, onward to the end!

(Later)

Wally ran and looked around, staring at everything he could, trying to take it all in at once. The cave had changed somewhat. There were a lot more personal effects strewn around, the training room had been expanded, the library had gotten more books that wouldn't fit on the shelves and were instead piled on the floor and tables, the hallway of rooms felt much more full than it had when he'd lived there, and the overall technology had been updated much more than he had thought possible. Though he’d seen the changes throughout the years in his very few visits, it felt different right then, somehow. 

A thrill of happiness coursed through him, one that he couldn't fight down as he went around again. And again. And again, just for the sake of memorization. By the time he'd finished, Dick was sitting on the kitchen counter smirking at him. "Having fun?" he asked, sounding amused.

Wally didn't care that he looked like a little boy at a theme park as he nodded excitedly. "It's been so long since I've just hung out here, you know?"

Dick smiled. "Kind of. I felt like that when I first went back to Wayne Manor."

The speedster calmed down at that and shot his friend a strange look. "You went back? When?"

"At Christmas and some of the other holidays. I have since Jason died."

Wally frowned, upset he that he hadn't been aware of that. "Oh. That's good. I...sorry I didn't know."

Dick shrugged. "No big deal, man. It's not like I ever told you." There was a small silence between them that was sort of awkward, but not nearly as much as what had been going on the past couple of years. Dick cleared his throat. "So, are you ready to rejoin the team?"

"Absolutely," Wally answered, looking around him again to try and take in everything he could. It felt so good to be back, almost like he was coming home after being away a long time.

Dick looked happy, but somewhat uneasy at the same time. It wasn't unlike the expression Barry had worn a few days before. "Are you sure you're up for this, man?"  
"More than anything," he answered with a smirk. "I've stayed away for too long. It's about time I came back."

"Artemis would be proud."

Wally had to smile slightly at that, because she probably would be. He glanced around, seeing no one before leaning forward, lowering his voice as he spoke. "Have you heard anything?"

Dick looked decidedly uncomfortable. "No. I haven't been able to get through to either her or Kaldur. I'm sorry, Wally."

"It's okay," he answered, even though it kind of wasn't. He'd known what danger his girlfriend was putting herself in the moment she'd chosen to take on this mission, but that didn't mean he was really prepared for the mental pain that came with it. It was getting to the point that he was worrying about her every free moment he had and he was beginning to hope that maybe rejoining Young Justice would help him focus on other things. But he was still scared. He found himself hanging on Bart's words more than was probably healthy, telling himself not to worry and that everything would be okay.

But it wasn't enough.

She was out there somewhere, maybe in danger, maybe in pain, maybe being discovered for who she was _right now _, and there was nothing he could do about it. He felt like a horrible person when he realized that he was somewhat relieved when Nightwing looked just as upset. "Wally," the younger man asked, and his voice was quiet. So quiet. Like it had been when he told him he'd been fired as Robin, all those years ago. "Do you...do you think I made the wrong choice?"__

__"What do you mean?"_ _

__"Do you think I shouldn't have sent those two out in the first place?"_ _

__And how the heck was he supposed to answer that? He was probably the most biased person on the subject. "I don't know," he finally said, deciding to be truthful. He was so sick of keeping secrets and Dick was the only one present he didn't have any with at that moment. He saw no reason to change that. "I think it was a dangerous decision. But I also think that it's part of the job. We all knew we'd be putting ourselves in danger when we took up our cowls or uniforms. Artemis and Kaldur knew what they were getting themselves into. It may have been your plan, but they were the ones that agreed to it."_ _

__"I know. I know. It's just...I can't help but feel like I've screwed up somehow, like...I've sent them to their deaths or something, you know?"_ _

__"Yeah, I can see how you'd feel that way, but dude...I won't blame you if something happens to them." And he realized, right then, that that was true. It wouldn't be Dick's fault at all. He wouldn't be the one that directly hurt them, and he wouldn't really be the one that put them in that position- they themselves had._ _

__"You wouldn't?" there was so much hope in that voice._ _

__"No. I mean...none of us ever blamed Batman or the other members of the Justice League when one of us got hurt, right? This is the same thing."_ _

__"Not really. Batman was always our backup, in a way. Someone always knew where we were. This is entirely different. Artemis and Kaldur don't have a contingency plan, or anything to fall back on. Even if they asked for help, I'm not sure anyone would give it to them, what with how Kaldur's been acting to them all and how Artemis looks right now. I threw them into an ocean without a life raft before I checked to make sure they could swim."_ _

__"Bart said not to worry about Artemis, that it would all end up okay." Wally probably shouldn't have told him that, but Dick was so upset and he hadn't seen his friend like that in so long. He really didn't want any secrets between them._ _

__It seemed that the news calmed the younger man a little, but not much. "But what about Kaldur? And what exactly does that mean? She could still die, even if the mission itself succeeds."_ _

__Wally had thought of the same thing, but he really hadn't wanted to dwell on it much. "I don't know," he finally said._ _

__"You two and your secrets. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were plotting to take over the world or something."_ _

__"ROY?" And yeah, maybe Wally had been a little loud (proven by both of his friends rubbing idly at their ears with pained faces), but could anyone really blame him for that one?  
He made sure to try his best and calm himself before finishing. "What're you doing here?"_ _

__The older red head blinked at him, shifting the back pack he had on as he turned to Dick. "You haven't told him?"_ _

__"Told me what?"_ _

__"No, I haven't," Dick rubbed the back of his neck, looking kind of awkward. "I got kind of distracted. Wally, Roy is re-joining Young Justice, as of today."_ _

__The speedster couldn't do anything but stare for a moment. "Wait...what...really?"_ _

__The archer nodded with a strange smirk on his face. "Really."_ _

__"But-but-but...Why? I thought you were part of the Justice League now."_ _

__"I was, but I took a demotion. I didn't really fit in there. Besides..." and at this, the man looked more uncomfortable than Wally had ever seen him, shuffling his feet as he searched for words. "Watchtower is in space, which isn't a very good environment for children."_ _

__"...what?" Because, well, WHAT?_ _

__Roy cleared his throat, looking everywhere but at his two friends while Dick just chuckled at him. "Come on, man. Wally will be okay with it."_ _

__"Y-yeah, but Jade tried to kill him that one time, with the pool. She almost did! Which, by the way, she really is sorry about and-"_ _

__"Roy."_ _

__"Sorry! I just...ahem, Wally, I'd like you to...to meet someone," Roy, far more awkwardly than Wally could recall him ever being, finally choked out as Dick elbowed him rather painfully in the side. He slowly slung his back pack, which was more of a fur wrap around than anything, to his front and placed it as gently as possible on the counter. The top flap wasn't actually fastened closed, and the bag had a very loose weave. Roy took a deep breath before opening it._ _

__And Wally just stared._ _

__Because inside..._ _

__"Dude," he finally said, staring down at two bright little eyes staring right back up at him. "When did you get knocked up?"_ _

__Dick burst out laughing as Roy's face morphed into something that promised unimaginable pain and death. "Not funny," the archer finally said after his mouth worked a bit._ _

The little person - girl, he realized, she was a _girl _\- giggled brightly and reached up with her hands. Wally blinked again, unsure if he would be crossing a boundary if he scooped her up and hugged her like he wanted to and instead just put his finger out. She grabbed hold of it immediately. He expected her to bite it, or squeeze it, or maybe even bend it backwards, but she just held it, like it was entirely natural. "...Okay, how did _you_ and _Cheshire_ manage to make such a terminally cute baby?" And it had to be Jade, based on Wally’s knowledge of Roy’s girlfriends (or lack thereof). Dick laughed even harder and was now having to gasp for air. "I'm serious Roy, this has to violate, like, nine laws of the universe at least," the speedster continued. __

_____"Not funny, Wally."_ _ _ _ _

_____"Roy's right. It's actually hilarious," Dick said, finally gaining back a sense of composure, though his face was bright red behind his mask. "Ugh...I forgot what it's like to be with both of you at once."_ _ _ _ _

_____Neither of them said anything at that. Wally felt no small amount of guilt welling up in himself, mostly because he'd shut everyone out and it was partly his fault the three of them hadn't hung out since Dick's birthday a couple of years ago. Roy looked even worse, as he shrunk a little. Dick became upset as he realized that he'd just killed the atmosphere and stuttered a quiet apology._ _ _ _ _

_____"Don't worry about it, man, it wasn't your fault," Wally reassured him. The tiny girl tugged on his finger and reached for him with her other hand. He couldn't help but smile and poke her nose softly, to which she squealed and giggled again. "What's her name?"_ _ _ _ _

_____Roy suddenly looked like he was about to burst with pride. "Lian. She's perfect. You're right, Wally. I don't have a clue how she came from her parents."_ _ _ _ _

_____"I have an idea," Dick said, ruffling the girl's hair lightly. "Maybe you just don't see how perfect you are."_ _ _ _ _

_____"I'll swear to that," Wally added before Roy could interrupt. The older boy looked at a loss for a moment before he sighed and bowed his head._ _ _ _ _

_____"Whatever. You two are weird. Though...thanks for letting us stay here, Nightwing. My apartment was no place for a baby, especially on that side of town. I...I didn't know where else to go, so...thanks."_ _ _ _ _

_____Wally smiled knowingly, fully aware of how hard it was for Roy to take a step backwards from his pride like this. Lian was already changing him for the better, it seemed. As though she agreed with the thought, the little girl made a strange sound and looked at her daddy, smiling a much smaller, but seemingly more sincere smile. Perceptive this one, Wally realized. Just like her parents._ _ _ _ _

_____"It's no problem, Roy. We told you five years ago that you'd always be welcomed here. I didn't see any reason to change that now. As for Lian, how could I say 'no' to that face?"_ _ _ _ _

_____Roy looked slightly embarrassed before he changed the subject. "By the way...I couldn't help but hear you guys talking about Artemis."_ _ _ _ _

_____"By 'hear', do you mean 'eavesdrop'?" Dick asked dryly, though he didn't seem as upset as Wally would have thought._ _ _ _ _

_____Roy winced anyway. "I won't tell anyone, I swear. I understand the need for a covert operation like this, and I think the League will too. It's Young Justice you'll have to worry about."_ _ _ _ _

_____"It's Young Justice I live with and see every day."_ _ _ _ _

_____"Yeah, well, they'll just have to deal. Sometimes, there are things that are more important than people's feelings. Although, does this really mean that Kaldur's-"_ _ _ _ _

_____"Yes," Dick answered quickly, glancing around to ensure no one was listening._ _ _ _ _

_____Roy was silent for a moment before he took a huge breath. "That's...wow. That's dedication. Kudos to him. Seriously."_ _ _ _ _

_____"I know. This...hasn't been easy for any of us. Especially him."_ _ _ _ _

_____"We need to throw him an appreciation party when he gets back."_ _ _ _ _

_____"That we will do."_ _ _ _ _

_____"I'm game," Wally said, surprised when Lian tugged his finger hard enough to give the impression that she agreed too. "She really is amazing Roy," he said, marveling at this little miracle in front of him. This child...Lian had come from his best friend and his girlfriend's sister. She was practically part of his family. And she was so perfect._ _ _ _ _

_____"Thanks," the archer said, though he sounded a little unsure again. Wally looked at him, wondering what was wrong. "Um...Jade and I kind of talked about this, and we decided this was best."_ _ _ _ _

_____"Huh?" Wally could tell he was out of the loop on something. Dick was giving him this really loopy smile, like he'd just been told he'd won the lottery and Roy, if at all possible, seemed even more uncomfortable than before._ _ _ _ _

_____"We...uh...we want you and Artemis to be Lian's godparents."_ _ _ _ _

_____The speedster couldn't even begin to comprehend that. "What?"_ _ _ _ _

_____Roy sighed. "We want you two to take care of our daughter if anything should happen to us. Dick is kind of our second back up."_ _ _ _ _

_____"...Roy, perhaps you've forgotten, but I tend to break things when I'm not careful."_ _ _ _ _

_____"You won't break her."_ _ _ _ _

_____"She's a...a kid!" Wally could feel actual panic rising in him about this. What the heck was Roy thinking? "I don't know what to do with kids!"_ _ _ _ _

_____"Bart says exactly the opposite," Dick said, the little traitor. "In fact, he says that about a dozen children all loved you and you took care of them all at once."_ _ _ _ _

_____"Yeah, maybe, but that's forty years from now! I've never even held a baby before!"_ _ _ _ _

_____"Never too early to start practicing," Roy responded, and before Wally could even begin to phrase a defense, he found his arms full of a slightly squirming Lian as Roy picked his daughter up and passed her over. Wally freaked, his hands fluttering around as he tried to figure out a way to hold her that wouldn't cause harm. He was supposed to support her head, right? In the shows, mothers always put their hand behind the baby's head. But did she need that when she was in her wrap-around-bag-thing? Was he supposed to start burping her before or after she showed signs of needing it? Speaking of which, was he supposed to feed her or something? Did he put his other hand under her rear, or did he sit her on his arm? And-_ _ _ _ _

_____"Wally, stop panicking. You're going to do fine, I promise you." And if Roy had ever sounded like a father, it was there._ _ _ _ _

_____His voice alone somehow acted like a sedative or something, because suddenly, Lian was in Wally's arms and it was so much easier than it had seemed a moment before. The little girl gurgled up at him, pulling at his shirt with inquisitive hands and Wally felt his heart melt a little bit. This child...was Roy's. And Jade's. It was such an odd image, but it somehow seemed to fit. He could see now, the features she'd gained from each one, and it was almost scary how much a perfect mesh of the two she was._ _ _ _ _

_____"So...will you do it?"_ _ _ _ _

_____"Huh?"_ _ _ _ _

_____"Will you be her godfather?"_ _ _ _ _

_____Wally kept looking at her, taking in everything he could, because this was one of the most beautiful things he'd ever seen. He knew exactly what he wanted to say, but he knew he shouldn't. He had so much to worry about, the Speed Force being at the top of the list. He couldn't take on something like this. Not now. But then, Roy had said that Dick was there too, and both of his friends were looking at him with so much hope and some other emotion he couldn't place._ _ _ _ _

_____Lian smiled at him, cooing softly, and Wally felt his walls crumble._ _ _ _ _

_____"Of course I will," he said quietly. "Although, can't promise I'll do a good job."_ _ _ _ _

_____"Don't have to tell me, man. I was drunk and pretty much high when Jade dropped in to tell me about her. Don't even talk to me about bad fathers," Roy responded._ _ _ _ _

_____"You'll do great," Wally answered at the same time Dick said "she'll be fine with you."_ _ _ _ _

_____"Hey Nightwing!"_ _ _ _ _

_____All three of them turned to see Batgirl, Bee, and Blue Beetle walk up to them from the direction of the entrance. The second two looked at Wally and Roy quizzically, and Lian quite critically, but Barbara just smirked. "What're you doing here?"_ _ _ _ _

_____"We're rejoining the team," they both answered at the same time. Wally felt a sort of pride in his words, but also nervousness. Judging by Roy's face, he was the same._ _ _ _ _

_____All three of them stared for a second before Barbara reached forward to shake their hands and ruffle Lian's small amount of hair. "Welcome back, then. We could use another speedster. And certainly an archer." She then looked to Dick. "Do you have a mission for us today?"_ _ _ _ _

_____"Yeah, some pretty simple recon work," he answered._ _ _ _ _

_____"And by 'simple', he means 'simple to screw up,'" Wally couldn't help but interject. Roy snorted in agreement and the other three heroes all chuckled._ _ _ _ _

_____Dick himself nodded. "Probably. Anyway, there some nearby drug activity that is now growing enough to be suspicious. I know you guys weren't there back then, but the original team once came across a problem where Bane and Sportsmaster were having a turf war that was growing steadily out of hand. I would like to avoid something like that happening here at all costs."_ _ _ _ _

_____"So, let's go see how we can possibly make this harder than it needs to be," Wally said cheerfully. Because, of course, back in the day, Murphy's Law ran rampant all the time._ _ _ _ _

_____"And then, knowing our luck, it'll start raining on top of whatever happens," Roy muttered._ _ _ _ _

_____Bumblebee gave an actual laugh at that. "Yeah, they'll fit right in."_ _ _ _ _

_____Everything else went by as a blur at that point. The other members of Young Justice gathered in the briefing room where Dick told them what was going on. Everyone else seemed okay with Roy and Wally's presence, and once Nightwing had confirmed that they were there to stay, M’gann squealed and Conner moved over next to them, both asking to be on their team. Wally had just blushed, not knowing what to say and genuinely surprised that they were so happy that he was there. Bart was no better, practically tackling him to the ground in excitement while waving up at Roy._ _ _ _ _

_____Wally felt right being back in his Kid Flash costume, though, considering his age, most of them called him KF. He didn't really care and made a mental note to think of a different name later, one that had to do with speed. Maybe Momentum. Or Inertia. He was kind of leaning towards Speed Demon or something himself._ _ _ _ _

_____In what seemed like hours but was only moments, they all got ready to go. Roy had decided to sit this one out and get Lian more acclimated to the base before leaving her with one of the younger heroes. Kid Flash, Miss Martian, Superboy, and Nightwing were all assigned to Beta squad. Bart, Robin, Bumblebee, and Wondergirl were Alpha, and all of them were joking that they were practically the junior version of the first generation. Wally just smiled, laughing as he realized that, yeah, that was kind of true, though Bee had many differences from M’gann. It struck him then just how much the team had grown over the years, especially in his absence. It was kind of a calming thought, that if something happened to him, there would be someone there to pick up the slack. It wasn't like the old days, where if they lost one person, the rest of them might not make it out of wherever they were._ _ _ _ _

_____Again, he was reminded of Artemis and Kaldur, who didn't even have the security they'd all shared five years before, but he tried his best to focus on other things. While he felt bad for pushing those thoughts away like that, it wouldn't do any good to get distracted at that moment. Especially with how lonely he'd been since his girlfriend had left._ _ _ _ _

_____In front of him, the Zeta beam portal opened up and he found himself smiling. This was it. His first real mission in two years. The other two, he'd just run into blindly. But this was different. He had a place here. He had friends that he knew had his back and a plan. He was home here, with them. With all of this.  
He missed Kaldur and Artemis, and they could be in danger._ _ _ _ _

_____But strangely, he was okay with that._ _ _ _ _

_____Just like he'd been okay with dying for his teammates. His friend and girlfriend had been ready for whatever came their way, and it would be unfair to them if Wally wasn't prepared the same way. Such a thought felt so wrong, but he knew that if he worried about them endlessly, it would not only make him fret, but it would also imply to himself that he didn't believe in their abilities._ _ _ _ _

_____He himself was running back into battle, aware that everything was on the line and that the Speed Force could snatch him back at any moment._ _ _ _ _

_____But, again, he was okay._ _ _ _ _

_____He was ready. If he was going to die, as had always been a threat in this kind of life, he wanted it to come in a way he was comfortable with. If he was going to go down before retirement, he was going to go down fighting. He wasn't contagious. Bart, Barry, and Jay were all safe from him unless they themselves went too fast - something they had all become wary of._ _ _ _ _

_____Nightwing made it a point to keep at least one super powered person on each team with a speedster, just in case. Though Wally knew that wouldn't be enough to pull them back should anything happen, it was a nice effort. Better than nothing anyway._ _ _ _ _

_____He still felt it. The Speed Force. It was always behind him, always beside him, tugging at him, trying to call him back. But he was okay. Because he had friends to help him. He had a new outlook on life now. If Artemis came back to find him gone to the other side, he'd like to think that she'd understand, at least somewhat. And he knew she would. She would kill him, but she would understand. It was the same reason he'd understood why she took Nightwing's offer to re-enter the field. Crime fighting was unavoidable once it got in the blood._ _ _ _ _

_____Going back to it felt so right._ _ _ _ _

_____As he turned to the Zeta beam, pulling up his cowl as he went, he felt so free._ _ _ _ _

_____He would always be in danger. And he would always be in a difficult position when it came to running. And thoughts of Artemis and Kaldur would always haunt him in the back of his mind. He'd never forget how he'd almost destroyed his relationships with everyone, especially those closest to him. He would be working for a long time to repair everything that had gone wrong in his life and get back all that he had lost._ _ _ _ _

_But he was okay with that._

_______Because everything was worth that and so much more._ _ _ _ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone that has supported me up until this point. You really have no idea what it means to me. This story was a blast to write and I really am seriously considering a return to it the future. A sequel would be interesting though. Since the story has officially caught up to the cartoon series, it will be entirely AU and there are so many ways it can go that I'm not sure what to think at the moment. For now, I hope you all liked the story! Any feedback will be taken into great consideration for future works and is very much appreciated. Thank you all so much for everything!
> 
> P.S. For those that are curious (I always am when I read stories), the final page count here was about seventy-four and a half pages, not counting the author's notes. Thanks for reading!
> 
> -Pebblekit

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys. Thanks for reading and I hope you liked it. This story is actually already completed and has been for a couple of years, but I'm editing each chapter before I post them. It shouldn't be too long before I get all of them up. I should also mention that a couple of chapters in this heavily reference the episode in the Justice League cartoon called "United We Stand". Hope to see you next time!


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